Into the Wild
by evil vixen sue
Summary: Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab. She was recaptured and after months of psy ops, she was sent to X5494's unit. Totally M/A
1. chapter 1

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG

Show: DA

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous -- *methinks!* X5494. Then the unit was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues.. 

**

Thank you so much to Addy who beta-ed this chapter.. thanks, hon! I don't know what I'd do without you.. *sniff*

**

into the wild. chapter 1.  


  
The small cell was dark. A lone figure was huddled under the thin blanket but her dark eyes were wide open, staring into the darkness. Above her, silvery fingers of dawn sneaked in through the heavy bars of her miniscule window and the rays of light danced merrily on the cold hard floor, slowly pushing the darkness away. 

She stirred idly, just a flutter of movements, that small vibration would be lost on any watching eyes. But there were none, the cell was safe from any prying eyes. The warm rays of sunlight continued their never ending task of heating this abused planet most of the population absent mindedly called home. 

Suddenly deciding that her dominant shark DNA had won the battle yet again for today, impatiently Max threw the sparse covering away and sat on her narrow cot. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle the long unruly locks as her eyes stared into the dim room. A huge sigh escaped the full lips as she remembered her surroundings. 

She turned desperate eyes towards the tiny thing they called window and with a painful pang she recalled her life, the one she had unwittingly left behind, a lifetime ago in Seattle. Her dark eyes glazed with pain as images of her friends invaded her troubled mind. Sharp stabs of homesickness plunged its spiky end into her heart as she thought about her best friend Original Cindy, housemate Kendra, oblivious Sketchy, unfathomable Herbal.. heck! even Normal, who was anything but that.

Her disturbed mind took a detour and ended up on Eyes Only, the man she had been helping on and off for almost a year.. or also usually known as Logan Cale. She wondered briefly who's around to give him a hand in saving this corrupted world for the good of mankind, so that a better future would emerge from this murky present. But only for a moment before she lost interest and turned her thoughts back to her shattered life. 

She would've given anything in this world to hear Normal's usually annoying 'bip bip bip' again. Although the overly repeated phrase (can that even be considered a phrase? Max brooded) that usually grated on her frequently high strung nerves, the sound of that irritating command would have meant that she was still living the life she wanted, now; a bike messenger by day, a cat burglar by night and always on the look out for her lost siblings. 

Not once did she imagine that her troubles would start after she had located several of her long lost relatives. Nor did she ever imagine of being recaptured and undoubtedly stuck here in this godforsaken facility as a genetically engineered soldier. She turned her caged gaze around the tiny cell as the ever present thought of running sneaked back in. 

She squashed that stubborn idea flat and the whisper of hope it brought along. Her hand stilled as her heart beat faster and for a second she imagined that she was free. Free to do exactly as she pleases and free from this heavy shackles Manticore had clamped around her legs. Shutters automatically clanged down on her dark eyes, hiding the turbulent emotions behind it. 

Max shut her eyes tightly as the memory of her escape paraded across. After a few months of being recaptured, she had worked tirelessly each night, loosening the heavy bricks under her bed, successfully freeing the block of stone an agonizing inch a day from the cold wall. At that time, she thanked the Blue Lady that the technician had added the shark DNA into her and she had used it fully. 

She had worked silently and quietly and a couple of months later, the stone was out. Feeling that quick rush of adrenaline flooding her senses, she had glanced around the quiet facility and hastily concluded to make a run for it at that very instance. She sneaked through the basement, alert eyes taking in the surroundings while her keen hearing tried to spot any sort of danger. 

But that night, the basement was completely empty, devoid of anything threatening or anyone for that matter. She had kept walking until she ended up under a grimy window. Feeling reckless, Max took hold of the bars and with a single tug she had a makeshift hole to wriggle through. 

She hoisted herself up quickly and after scanning the woods beyond the perimeter, she blurred across the yard. A soft sigh came out as she remembers with sudden clarity the feeling of that soft cool breeze as they whipped over her face and whispered slowly in her ears. The feeling of freedom. She was so giddy from her successful escape, she lost her concentration and didn't see them until it was too late. Way too late. A whole unit of X7's around the area.

  
The every same area she was hurtling herself through. She stumbled a step before she caught herself and in a split second she had made her decision. Do not abort the mission, keep going, she chanted softly to herself. If somehow she was sighted, she was sure she could handle it. They were just a bunch of kids, super soldier maybe but then so was she. She could hold her end, no doubt about that. 

She blurred to the nearest tree and stop, scanning the area for immediate danger. Although she was completely out of sight, somehow she sensed that a number of the X7's already had their eyes trained on her. Before she could even moved a muscle, the telltale click of a gun broke the silence. Followed by a few more of those. She tensed before lashing out, shoving the thought that she was totally outnumbered away. 

She had managed to take down a couple of those silent soldiers before something pierced through her back. She looked down and saw that her standard issue gray shirt was stained with a rapidly growing pool of blood. She put her hand on her wounded rib and turned to face her shooter, intent on seeking revenge on her injury, breathing hard as the wound had sent her working neurons into overdrive. 

But her sluggish movement can't compare to their efficient one. Before she could even turned completely, her head burst into a firework of pain after connecting with something blunt and very hard. Before she blacked out, she could almost see her hope and freedom fluttered away and vanished gradually into the night. Moving away from her bloody grasp. 

Max shot up from her bunk, shivering all over as she recalled the failed escape and what followed…

The next thing she knew after she opened her heavy eyes again was that she was strapped down tightly on a bed in the medical wing. She struggled feebly, knowing that there's absolutely no way she could escape now. Her jaw clenched tightly as she recalled her next destination after she was pronounced healthy enough to handle it. Psy-Ops.

Her hand resume the motion of going through her hair automatically, as she was pushed back to the past and again she relived the horrifying experience. She had been daily tortured for two months before they announced that she wouldn't be a problem anymore. Psy-Ops. Max trembled as that mere word brought its usual companions. Fear. Dread. Terror. 

Although she berated herself harshly on her crushed goal of fleeing from here, the two months of torture was something she could not bring herself to forget. And she knew that without a remarkably solid plan, she won't put her life and possibly sanity on the line to chance another escape. She shuddered as flashes of the past returned, bringing in its wake the customary horror. 

Laser beams probing painfully into her eyes.. long, hard interrogation.. physical torture.. mental torment.. brain washing.. Unconsciously, Max started breathing faster and harder as the nightmare continued. Her agitated arm moved rapidly pulling and pushing her hand through her hair, but she was oblivious to the movement, too submerged in her own thoughts. Suddenly her long slender fingers encountered a unforeseen snag among her long tresses. 

Still lost in her deep thoughts she hadn't realized the would be painful result of that encounter. Her arm kept moving before sharp searing pain pierced the thick cloud around her consciousness and she gasped loudly as a few strand of dark hair was pulled in the process. Gently she massaged her stinging scalp as she winced, breathing slowly and softly through her mouth. 

After the biting sensation gradually subsided, she ran her fingers through her hair for the last time before tossing the heavy hair over her shoulder feeling tense, she stood up to stretch and again her eyes took in the cold cell. There's no way I'm gonna give Psy-Ops another visit. Not if I'm still breathing, she vowed as her eyes harden with determination. 

Before she had time to dwell on her pitiful life, the door to the tiny cell clanged loudly as a guard was fumbling clumsily with the lock. Max turned her head and watched silently as the guard pulled the door opened and stood at the entrance. 

'452. Director Renfro wants to see you, NOW!' he snapped, the cold blue eyes watching her every move. 

Then he moved aside and waited impatiently for the ex-escapee to move past him. Max glanced at the man and intentionally took a couple of minutes before she started moving. As she marched past the infuriate guard, she turned her head just for a fraction and send an imperious glare to the waiting man. 

With a toss of her head, she left the furious man and headed towards the Director's room, her head held high, her rigid back straight as an arrow. The guard continued to mutter angrily under his breath even though she had disappeared from view.

Max stood in front of the door, a bit hesitant to enter. She turned around, trying to find anything that would give her any kind of clue to today's early 'request' for a meeting. Sadly, luck was not on her side as there was absolutely nothing that could've given her any sort of hint. 

Discipline? No, absolutely not! She shook her head, not believing that was the reason. I've been the model soldier. No one had been as sickeningly meek as I have, she thought with revulsion, or did they suspect everything was a ruse? And now, they're going to throw me into Psy-Ops again! Maybe I could talk her out of it or.. NO! snap out of it, Max! You're overreacting! Calm down and walk through that door, end of story, slowly she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then smartly, she knocked twice on the thick dark door.

  
'Enter,' an alert sounding voice replied instantly. Max collected herself for the last time before pushing the door and stepping into the Director's chamber. She stood stiffly before her, hand moving fluently into a salute. 

'X5452 reporting as ordered, ma'am!' then her hand whipped down to rest firmly by her side, blank eyes staring straight ahead, standing still in attention.

'At ease, soldier,' the Director spoke, as she leaned back into her chair, her linked fingers on her lap. Immediately Max's stiff posture relaxed, but just for a notch, her hand motionless behind her erect body. And the dark eyes were still empty as they stared at the wall behind Renfro's back. 

Director Renfro remained silent as she studied the unmoving soldier in front of her. Her calculating gaze roved over the emotionless face, silently assessing the stationary girl. Satisfied with what she saw, the Director reached over and picked up the discarded pen lying on her table before resting back against her chair, 

'A group of terrorists called The Flying Star had somehow required something Manticore wanted. And now we want it back. You'll be a part of that retrieving team. Your Commanding Officer will brief you on this mission.' Max hid the surprise she felt at Renfro's words. If her CO would brief her later, then what the hell was she doing here? But of course, she never asked her questions out loud. No one questions the Director's orders, however weird they may sound, period… or you'll be heading for another tour of Psy-Ops. 

But something must have flicked over her closed face. 'I ordered this… meeting, is because I want to decide for myself whether you're ready for a mission or not. I'm happy to say that your recent records certainly proved that. You're dismissed,' with that, she turned back to her work. 

Max stood still for a second, not believing what she had heard before everything came flooding back. Quickly she saluted the busy Director, turned on her heels and left the room. She closed the door with a click before her busy mind started working. She's going on a mission. That means leaving this facility and if she planned this correctly, this could be her ticket out. 

I have to think this through first, her sane side whispered trying to stop the rapidly growing hope from blossoming, very, very thoroughly indeed.. or it's- hellooo Psy-Ops.. She shook her head hard before she started walking.

__

to be continued..


	2. chapter 2

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG

Show: DA

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous -- *methinks!* X5494. Then the unit was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues.. 

**

the amazing addy *grin* has offered me her skills in betaing. Doubtless to say, it's an offer I couldn't refuse :) yes, one more thing.. for any of you that are wondering, the next chapter for 'anything and everything' will be posted very-very soon ^-^ 

**

Chapter 2.

The long corridor was unnaturally crowded as Max slowly made her way across. But the abundance of people moving along the hallway didn't really matter to her. She was too deep in her own thoughts for that piece of fact to sink in. Too busy debating with herself on her seemingly lucky break.. or something that would undoubtedly break her apart. She grimaced as the battle continued furiously in her head. 

A part of her she cautiously named optimist-Max expressed with unbridled excitement, _'yes! Go for it! Your freedom is here.. take it!'_

But the other part she tentatively called pessimist-Max snapped angrily, _'Are you kidding? If you failed, you'll get that transgenic ass hauled off to Psy-ops.. again!! And you DO NOT want to go there!! Remember that, Maxie!'_

'So, you're suggesting that we spend the rest of our lives HERE?! Have you lost your freaking mind?' optimist-Max cried out.

'Oh, I will.. no doubt about it, if we continue with your immature half cooked plan!' pessimist-Max jeered.

'THAT'S IT!' the real Max shouted, ending the heated. 'Both of you, STOP IT!'

Suddenly the dark brown eyes widen as something hit her with the force of a mad enraged bull. She groaned and slowly lifted her hand and covered her heated face. 'God,' she whispered, 'I'm going mad.. I'm arguing with myself, for god sake! Can this day get any worse than this?'

No, possibly not, she thought. How could anything else top the realization that you're slowly losing your mind? 

Nothing. 

There's some comfort in that, she mulled. Ah well, every cloud has a silver lining, that's what people used to say. She sighed tiredly, and this bright glorious day is only starting. I wonder what else is waiting for me, she thought with a quick stab of wariness. Oh yeah, the briefing with the new CO. I wonder who will that be? Just hope he'll be as good as Zack, as nice and protective as my big brother.

Zack, she whispered sadly as she recalled her tall blond brother.

Out of nowhere, dark memories decided to come calling. Max trembled as the black cloud pressed down on her, heavily and painfully over her unprotected body and snatched her back into the horrifying past…

**

'This is for Tinga' Max stated clearly, the hidden emotion brimming under the simple statement as the four of them stood staring down on Manticore. Although she was almost trembling as she looked upon the hell of her childhood, nothing was permitted to break free from the iron clad restrain she had on herself. No one, especially her siblings will be able to see how much Manticore had its sharp talon dug into her flesh. 

She sneaked a glance at Zack, shocked and surprised as she noticed a ripple of fury dance across his sharp features. With a pang she remembered that he, among all of them, was the one who had suffered the most in the hands of Manticore. Without complaint, he had taken the burden, the responsibility and the torture that had come along, all just to make sure that they would be safe. 

Her eyes sought out Syl and Krit, but their blank faces reveal nothing to her. Her jaw tightened as she psyched herself for the battle ahead. This mission will be a success, she told herself grimly, no other outcome will be permitted. Her stiff shoulder straightened as Zack started moving beside her.

They looked at each other for a second, nodded abruptly and with a flurry of movements, they blurred towards the high gate and leapt. Leaping straight into their hellish past. And for the sake of their future, they moved forward, determined to succeed.

They went in pairs as planned. Syl and Krit turned towards the service corridor, 4 alpha, heading towards the auxiliary generators to set their charges. Max trailed behind Zack as they moved through the basement to the east air shaft, making their way carefully to the DNA lab.

Max suppressed a shudder as flashes of her childhood made their presence felt when she saw a unit of young X5's marching through the corridors. As they passed a surgery room, images of her brother Jack intermingled with her own experience fighting hard to resurfaced. Her breath started coming out in short rapid burst of intake as she desperately tried to regain control. 

She managed to take hold of her fraying nerves and stepped into an empty hall way. But this particular one brought Eva's murder to mind. Quickly she closed her eyes and shoved the memory away. She needed her full concentration right now and wallowing in the past was not helping. She nearly jumped out of her skin as Zack suddenly spoke to her.

'You okay, Max?' her brother asked, concern evident in his clear gaze.

She nodded, grateful for his presence and motioned for them to start moving again. Silently the two of them blended with the shadows as they crept along the darkened hallway.

**

'You see anything south of corridor 4?' Krit's voice rang out clearly.

'You're clear all the way to the generator' replied Logan as he squinted at the monitors.

'Copy that.'

Logan was watching the video feed and he could see that Syl and Krit had no problems getting to their destinations. He turned quickly as the sound of Max's voice could be heard in his ear-piece.

'Logan?'

He smiled as he muttered, 'I got you, Max.'

He saw that Max and Zack was standing in front of the camera, looking up at him as they waited for his instructions. He typed furiously for a few seconds, surveying their future routes making sure all was clear, satisfied, he turned back to the waiting duo.

'We good to go?' Max asked, a bit impatient by the delay.

'You're clear,' came the prompt reply from Logan's lips.

Without a word, the two X5's turned and started moving down the corridor. Logan kept looking at Max's rapidly fading back until she had completely disappeared from the camera's view. He sighed loudly, earning a mildly irritated look from Lydecker but he ignored the look and turn to the monitor, losing himself among the flickering images once again. 

A second later Logan let out a surprised gasp before burrowing his head and typing furiously. Lydecker turned, a little worried with the other man's behavior. He frowned as Logan continued to ignore him but his fingers are moving faster by the second. As if desperately trying to find something before precious time runs out.

'What is it?' Lydecker asked as he slipped his glasses on, the eyes behind them suddenly alert.

'What?' a startled Logan turned, 'Nothing really.' Again he turned his back on the grim Colonel and started with his typing again. 

Lydecker narrowed his eyes speculatively as he stared at the back of Logan's bent head. Something crossed his mind and silently he stood up, and he made his way slowly towards the busy Logan. Stopping directly behind Logan's chair, he pushed his glasses upwards and without hesitation he went through Logan's recent work. 

As the time slowly passed, Lydecker's frown got deeper, his eyes narrowed even further and he clenched his jaw angrily. Without a word his arm snaked past the preoccupied Logan and pushed a series of button to open the channel with the four X5's.

'Abort! Abort the mission, NOW!' he ordered briskly.

From the monitor, he could see that the four X5's paused for a second before their training kicked in. For Syl and Krit that is. Both of them turned instantly and retraced their steps back. But for Max and Zack, it's a different matter all together. 

Max turned and whispered urgently, 'What's wrong?' as quickly Zack flattened himself against the wall and grabbed her along too. He motioned for them to leave but Max impatiently shook her head. _No, not yet._

At the same time in the van, Logan turned, completely stunned as he realized what Lydecker had done. 'What the hell are you doing?' he cried angrily.

'I could ask you the same thing, Cale! How dare you let them walk in there!' snapped Lydecker furiously.

'I'm watching their backs! Nothing could go wrong!' he said loudly as he tried to take the mouthpiece back.

'Are you out of your MIND! That facility is crawling with genetically engineered super-soldiers! They're outnumbered! They HAVE to abort!'

'NO! This is the only chance for them to take down Manticore and I will NOT let you ruin everything! Manticore will not win!' he grabbed another piece and shouted tightly, 'Go Max! I'll cover you! Don't worry about anything. Just go!'

Lydecker's eyes widen with surprise and anger and he roared furiously to the remaining X5s, 'ABORT! The mission's been compromised! Abort! That's an order, soldier!'

In the dim corridor, Max was in a dilemma. She wanted to do what her training had clearly demanded but something was holding her back. She stood rooted to the ground as Lydecker and Logan persisted with their argument in her ear-piece. What Logan had said earlier stuck stubbornly in her mind. _The only chance for them to take down Manticore! Manticore will not win!_ Logan's right, she thought dazedly, if we surrender now, Manticore will win. And that's not something I want to happen. Not now.. not ever. Feeling sure she had made the right decision, she turned to the tautly strained Zack.

'We're moving ahead. Let's go.'

'WHAT! No, mission's aborted. We're going NOW!' Zack replied, looking down with his hard eyes.

'NO! If we do, Manticore wins. We have to finish this Zack,' she implored tensely but her eyes were set. Nothing would make her change her mind about this.

'Listen Max. A good soldier knows when to retreat and when to stick to the plan. This is one of those times to fall back! MOVE!' he said bluntly. 

'No, and you're not my CO anymore, remember?' then she turned around and quickly moved forward, leaving one very angry and worried Zack behind.

**

'It is not YOUR place to call the shots, Cale!' 

'Oh really? So, whose is it, yours?' sneered Logan distastefully.

'They're _my_ kids! I won't let anything happen to them!' came the heated reply.

'Your kids? But you let Manticore cut them open! Is that what a _father_ would do?' 

'They're soldiers. They could handle it.'

'And that was one of the reasons they all decided to run, is that it Colonel? Because they could handle it?'

'What happened? Why did we abort the mission?' Krit asked worriedly as he and Syl burst in. 

'Where's Zack and Max?' Syl said as she noticed their absence. 

Syl's question remained unanswered as Lydecker nodded tightly towards Logan, 'He knows that the entire facility was filled to the brim with contingents of X5's and an army of X7's too. And yet he kept quiet about it.'

'You said most of the X series have been deployed in various parts of the world. What happened to that?' Krit asked coldly.

'There must've been a last minute change' answered Lydecker tensely.

'What's _your_ excuse?' Krit turned his sharp gaze onto Logan.

'Manticore has to go down and I want to help do it. How could you find fault in that!' Logan slapped his hand down, hard on the control table for emphasis and unknowingly disconnected the audio feed that linked them with the remaining two X5s. 

'You let them walk straight into a trap! How could you knowingly let _four_ X5s face _hundreds_ of enemy trangenics? That's suicide!' Lydecker stated angrily, the fury he felt was quickly turning his face dangerously red. 

Krit and Syl spun quickly to face Logan and they both stared with wild, dangerous looking, eyes into the human's. Logan faltered for a moment, scared to the wits by the power of their gaze but he obstinately held his ground.

'That is not going to be a problem. I'll monitor the enemy's movements and could get you in and out safely without them knowing you're there. Of course, that's before Colonel here decides on his own to abort the mission,' Logan replied to Krit's abrupt question.

Lydecker threw up his hand in defeat as Logan was explaining his actions to Krit.

All four of them were too distracted by the drama enfolding right in front of them to realize that something was wrong. If any of them were to lift their heads, they would've seen Max as she sneaked slowly down the dimly lit hallway. 

And somewhere behind her, hidden among the moving shadows, someone was crouching in the dark corner, black eyes trained towards the back of the moving X5. High above the two of them, the wind whispered softly and blew the clouds that were hiding the moon from view and rays of light fall down towards the somber coverings of the night. It danced slowly past the heavy bars and came to rest upon the hard floor, illuminating the invisible corner. The crouching girl moved and as she turned, the moonlight shone on a pair of dark gleaming eyes.

The same eyes that could be found on Max.

__

to be continued..


	3. chapter 3

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG

Show: DA

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous -- *methinks!* X5494. Then the unit was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues.. 

**

again, thanks to addy for her superb betaing.. *smile* ok, I know we can't wait for the appearance of our gorgeous star but he won't be here till the next chapter.. sorry, guys! :) I need to get the past over with before the much waited meeting of the two X5's.. so, bear with me ok! Oh, one more thing, for those who had been with me since the early chapters of 'anything and everything', they could tell you that my style of writing could be summed up in two words.. ploddingly slow(if such word exists!) lol

**

Chapter 3

Max turned a watchful eye as she slunk past another deserted hallway. Her eyes swept the place but all seems well. Unconsciously, she let out a relieved sigh and moved ahead. She stopped a few minutes later as the silence started bothering her, fingering ear-piece.

'Logan? Do you copy?' she whispered.

But no one answered as the silence grew._ Dammit! Now what?_

Quickly she made her mind as around her, nothing moved. _Ok, you know the routes, you have the charges and you haven't been spotted yet. It's time to move._

She took one last look around and without another backward glance, she blurred towards the closed door at the end of the corridor. She stopped and pushed open the door, quickly and quietly, before she entered the empty room.

Her soft footsteps seemed to echo awkwardly around the big deserted chamber. At the end of the big hall, she spotted another door and from the plan that was burnt into her brain, she knew it would lead to another hallway before she could actually make it to the DNA lab. But just as she was about to take a step, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose as she sensed something. 

She spun quickly and her heart nearly stopped beating as a younger version of her stood at the entrance, a gun hanging loosely in one of her hands, dark eyes blank and unemotional as she stared at the ex-escapee standing before her. 

Then as if in slow motion, Max saw the clone raised her arm and without a sound positioned the gun to fire. Max's eyes flicked around the room, trying to find an escape route, preferably before the first shot was fired.

'Kid, you know it's not nice to point a gun at a family member. An _older _family member too. Don't say you cut class when they're teaching Family Protocol 101?' she asked, her tone dry. 

Her restless eyes snapped back to the clone as she heard the tell tale sound of a bullet as it whizzed through the air. She blurred, avoiding the speeding bullet's future contact with her body and then rapidly, she hurtled herself towards the clone. Her arm were raised, aiming squarely at the clone's head but the X7, anticipating that attack, ducked and then she swiped her leg, trying to topple Max down. 

Max jumped, flipped her body over the clone in a somersault and before she hits the floor, her strong leg lashed out and connected with a satisfied thud on the clone's shoulder. The X7 stumbled for a few steps, one hand holding the tender shoulder but a second later she was up and started attacking again.

Max turned sideways, blurring her arm and snaking it around the X7's neck as the clone rushed towards her and then tightly as she could she wrapped one arm around the clone, preventing the younger soldier from moving. 

Her hand shot out as her elbow made contact with the clone's rib. The X7 wheezed painfully but she whipped her head back, and a loud crack could be heard as the two heads met with each other. Max groaned and shook her head hard, trying to clear her vision and that extra few seconds cost her dearly as she didn't see the next one coming. 

The clone lifted a leg and forcefully she kicked Max on her thigh. Again a deafening crack filled the room as her thigh bone snapped and Max crumbled agonizingly onto the cold hard floor. She gasped as dancing colors started to fill her vision, one hand was holding her painfully broken leg. She breath loudly as she tried to push damp strand of hair from her sweat slicked face. But before she could even blink or make any further move, she was propelled backwards by an unknown momentum.

She landed haphazardly a few feet away. Max had to force herself to move from that undignified sprawl. Sweat was dripping down from her face as she tried to drag herself up. She groaned as a sudden excruciating pain started running through her entire body, lighting up the flames of agony everywhere it touched. 

Her breath came in huge wheezing gasps as her wavering sight saw that the clone was standing still, unblinking eyes stared deliberately, hands holding the gun straight and firm. Then she noticed that the gun was still smoking faintly. The realization of what had just happened swam heavily through her head as her other thoughts scattered all over the place. She gasped heavily, breathing labored, sweat dripping slowly to the floor before everything turned blessedly black.

**

Her head was throbbing painfully, a low dull thud that bounced across the tight confines of her brain. Max winced as she tried to pry her eyes open. Bright light streamed into her eyes and with a small gasp she turned her head away from its source. After a while, she tried again and this time the first thing that she saw was the color white. 

She was surrounded with it. White ceiling, white wall.. everything in that room was white. She let her bewildered and confused eyes wander around the room as fear started to fill her body. Her heart started beating faster as she saw the humming machines standing a few feet away in that otherwise empty room. 

Frantically, she tried to get up but to her complete horror she realized that both her hands were strapped down tightly, lying uselessly beside her. _No no no.. this isn't happening.. NO! _she whispered slowly to herself, tugging her hand forcefully as she tried to set it free. Failed, she struggled harder as the horrifying awareness sank in. _No, I don't believe that,_ she thought fiercely, _I will not believe I'm at Manticore. No!_

The fight with the leather straps ceased as someone walked into the room. A tall blond woman strode forcefully towards her. Something about her set Max off and the struggling continued, more vigorously than before.

'Careful. You'll pull a stitch,' the woman she assumed would be Renfro said.

'Where am I?' Max asked quickly, praying hard the answer won't be the one she had feared. 

The woman smile as she replied, 'I think you know.' 

'You won't win. I'll never be one of them again.' 

She put a stethoscope over Max's chest. Suddenly the sound of a beating heart could be heard as it reverberated across the room.

'Listen to that. That's strong, isn't it? That is the heart of a soldier.' 

__

No.. No! Please don't let Zack.. 

'A leader. A martyr.'

__

NO! her heart shouted painfully as hot flashes appeared in front of her eyes.

__

*

'Bring her back!' she could hear the fear and anger throbbing in Zack's voice. 

'Her heart's too badly damaged.'

'It won't do her any good. She's an X5. She needs an X5 heart.' a female voice said.

'Fight them, Maxie. Promise me you'll fight them.'

'X5-599, I've got a heart for you.'

*

No.. Not Zack! she thought hysterically.

'Turn it off,' she snapped to the woman. 

Without a word, the blond held out a hand and turned up the volume. 

'He was quite a man, your brother, Zack. He must've loved you very much..'

The sound of Zack's heart filled the empty room.

'...to make this sacrifice.' 

__

..sacrifice?! Nooo!!

'Turn it off!' she shouted forcefully. 

'But isn't it comforting to know that a part of him lives on in you? And that you've both come home to us? To me?' Renfro said as her eyes glowed with pleasure. Then with a soft smile, she turned and without a word she exited, leaving the sound of Zack's heartbeat behind.

The very same sound that would continue to haunt Max for the rest of her life pounding in her conscience. She gave dry sobs as the feeling of guilt and helplessness wrapped its thorny body around her. Her eyes remaining clear and hard, even though she was slowly dying on the inside because no one, not even Manticore could make her shed a single tear. Even though it was for her brother whose death was undoubtedly her doing.

**

A week later she was discharged and immediately sent for re-indoctrination where she spent the next month or so being brainwashed. Time had ceased to exist for her at that point. Every single day was a treacherous battle to fight and towards the end, she was too tired to care. 

Before she could take a breath, came her intimate encounter with Psy-Ops. She fought mightily at first, with all the ebbing strength she had left but they retaliate by punishing her harder. After months of hell, she realized that if she wanted to get out with her life, she had to _stay_ alive to do that. So, she brought down her resistance, bit by bit. 

Not much so that they would become suspicious but enough to make them believe that she was broken down, physically and mentally. Then she started with her plan for the escape, but that didn't exactly work out as she had hoped. Instead of gaining her the precious freedom, she got another round of Psy-Ops. 

The next two months were pure blazing infernos and this time it had left enough of a mark on her soul. Enough so that she won't be tempted to act rashly or hastily ever again. She watched her every step warily as she tried to go along with the flow. 

She turned and with a shock realized that she was standing in front of the briefing room. Her feet had taken her automatically when she was too preoccupied with her black thoughts. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. She had to be composed and alert, no hidden emotions to raise suspicion, but to be the well-trained soldier she was supposed to be. 

She straightened her shoulders and took a very deep breath. It was time to meet her new Commanding Officer.

__

to be continued...


	4. chapter 4

Title: into the wild  
Author: sue  
Rating: PG  
Show: DA  
Pairing: M/A  
Genre: Romance/Adventure  
Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous -- *methinks!* X5494. Then the unit was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues..

***

The real challenge issued by Mely.

In JBAC Max was captured before they could plant the explosives and the lab wasn't destroyed, so Max and Alec never became breeding partners.   
Max hasn't found a way to escape so she's stuck playing the good soldier and obeying what they say, but about 6 months or a year after she's captured Renfro assigns her on a mission and of course Alec is the CO.   
1-M/A  
2-A group must be sent on the mission, it must include Alec (as CO), Max, 2 female Xs and 2 male Xs.  
-(Optional) Biggs can be one of the males.  
2- It must be in some kind of Jungle or woods.  
3-Youre choice if Zack is dead or not, but Max cant know.  
4-(Optional) Try to include this as Max's first words to Alec ''sure I could do that, right after I shove my foot up your ass''.

Chapter 4 of into the wild

With flashes of the past still hounding and scurrying after her, Max shivered, not knowing if it was a good time to meet her new CO. Her new… CO. 

Zack.

Dead, because of her. She looked down as slowly she lifted an arm, dark eyes staring at her upheld hand and somehow she could almost see the bright red splashes of blood. Zack's blood that would forever leave a heavy stain on her hands… and on her soul. Although she wasn't the one that had pulled the trigger that had ultimately ended her brother's life, she was undoubtedly the sole reason he met such early and untimely demise. A sob stuck painfully in her throat as she remembered the way she ignored his repeated warnings. And because of her reckless decision, she had lost a brother that night. Waves of self-pity swept over her before she pushed it away. _No Max! Do not go there! she scolded herself sternly as she tried to pull herself together. __This is just a minor battle, she whispered to herself, __if you could fool the Director herself, this CO will be a piece of cake. Reassured, she instinctively straightened her already stiff shoulder before taking a deep breath as she tried to keep her brimming emotions under wrap. _Relax Max,_ she thought to herself as she raised her arm and knocked quickly on the door. __Here goes nothing, she thought warily as she waited for an answer._

'Enter,' a deep voice answered instantly. 

Max, in her half agitated-half preoccupied state couldn't place that deep timbre even though for a second she thought it had sounded strangely… familiar. She let that thought loose as she took another deep breath to calm and soothe her jittering nerves before she took the next shaking step, and then she opened the door.

Her first impression on the big briefing room was that it was unnaturally empty and devoid of any occupants... except for one. She ignored the pesky butterflies that were going into hysterical mode inside her stomach and strode confidently inside. Or what she fervently hoped looked confident. Her alert eyes saw a young man, possibly just a few years older than she was. He was propping one shoulder against the wall while his eyes were busy scanning the thick file he was holding in his hand. Beside him, a huge window framed his tall body, creating a halo around him as she squinted a little, trying to see her new Commanding Officer. The sparkling glass glinted as the soft morning light hit it and the rays of sunshine fell smoothly on his dark blond hair. He looked like he was basking in the early warmth as he went through the thick documents. A cat sunning in the comfortable heat. No, not a cat… mentally she shook her head, a panther maybe. A large, lean and perfectly muscular predator. A killing machine who could kill without remorse. She shivered a little as the last thought ran through her head. Quickly she shook them off, this is not the time to dwell on that subject or to jump into a philosophical mood. 

She ran her gaze over her new CO quickly, trying to assess her situation. His posture was perfectly relaxed as he read that thick stack but there was something about him that made Max automatically and unconsciously straighten her spine. She stood stiffly, her dark brown eyes carefully blank but her heart was pumping, anticipating the next few moments as she waited for the engrossed man to acknowledge her presence. A few very strained seconds passed before he slowly and almost lazily lifted his eyes from the papers and his head covered the faraway sun, chasing the halos away. Max's jaw almost dropped open as her heart skipped a beat and she stared with wonder at that pair of familiar green eyes.

*

_'Don't leave me here. Don't let them take me,' the pair of green eyes pleaded desperately. _

_'Ben, I can't carry you. We'll both get caught,' Max answered hurriedly, looking around them for signs of dangers. _

_'I know.' That simple sentence was spoken in a decisive tone by someone who had already made up his mind. Ben lifted his head towards her and looks at her pointedly. _

_Max's face fell as his requests sank in, 'Ben, I can't.' _

_'Please. You know what they'll do to me. They'll put me down there with them… the Nomlies. Please,' he said and his beaten eyes continued to beg. _

_Max looks at him tearfully and reluctantly made her decision, 'Tell me about the Good Place.' _

_Ben smiled, 'Where no one ever gets punished.' _

_'And no one gets yelled at,' Max continued. _

_'And nobody disappears. And when you wake up in the morning, you can stay in bed as long as--' _

_SNAP._

The sound of the broken neck seemed to bounce everywhere in the silent forest. Devastated, she dropped her head on his lifeless chest and sobbed. Crying for her lost brother, whom she had just killed. 

*

'Ben?' she whispered, her voice almost breaking over that single syllable with a mixture of relief, longing and wonder, all mingled together. Her heart was singing happily as she gazed with thunderstruck eyes, not believing that her dead brother was alive and well. Her eyes started to glitter brightly with wonder and simple joy as she felt herself being pulled into the emerald depth of his sparkling eyes. Heart beating frantically, she took a tiny step forward, her arms started to move to embrace her newly found brother before she drawn in a surprised breath. _Wait, something's not quite right, _something inside of her shouted.

That familiar pair of hazel green eyes were… different.

The racing beat of her heart sounded so loud as it throbbed painfully in her ears. She stared hard into that green orbs and with a shock, she realized that the manic gleam that had always been in her brother's eyes were missing. These eyes were hard, flecks of icy cold ice floating over blunt detachment. She took a fumbling step backwards as the stranger straightened himself abruptly, standing in front of her as he transferred the bulky files easily to his left hand.  Her rising hope was squashed flat in seconds as she saw that those eyes were flickering with something that had never made an appearance in Ben's eyes.

Authority... power and the one that truly hurts, lack of knowledge about her very own existence. Or the fact that she was a part of his family… once. 

For a few seconds, the familiar stranger stared hard, a bewildered frown marring his smooth forehead as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. She could almost feel the freezing stare as they swept all over her. She hid her trembling disappointment as she kept her glinting eyes trained on the sparkling window. Which is why she didn't see a spark of recognition that had lighten up the said eyes. 

'I presume that would be 493, one of the twelve '09 traitors,' he stated briskly, with a dash of coldness. 

Max bristled at that imperious tone but somehow she had managed to shove a heated reply away as she stared blankly ahead. 

'You must be 452, another one of the infamous escapees,' he drawled before his tone changed to a sharp commanding one, 'I'm 494, your CO for this mission.'

Again Max managed to hide a surprised gasp as she heard his designation. _494? He must have been Ben's twin… but how could two similar men be so different?_

'I don't know how much you already know about this mission, but let it be known that _This. Mission. Is.** Very. Important. **_Every single member in this unit has heavy responsibility to make sure this mission is a success and I DO NOT want you to screw everything up,' he lectured sternly as slowly, Max's temper started to boil.

She clenched her teeth in anger as he went ahead. 

'After all, you've been on the outside for over 10 years and you've missed 10 vital years of training. I don't even know if you could handle a simple M16 without shooting your legs off first or disarm yourself without endangering the entire unit,' he said in disdain.

That's it! Before she could even realized what was happening, she blurted out angrily and without thinking of the consequences, 'Sure I could do that, right after I shove my foot up your ass!'

The second she got the furious reply out of her mouth, she gasped in shock. Damn, did she just say that out loud? God, that means another round of Psy-Ops! No one in their right mind would do that to their CO and expect to get away scot-free. She almost groaned in desperation as visions of laser beams danced through her mind. Her heart was racing furiously as she stared dead ahead, her jaws set as her stiff muscles twitched nervously and waited for her ticket to hell to be handed over by this man. 

X5-494 had the shock in his life as he heard that heated reply coming out from the newly captured soldier. From her files, he knew that Manticore had considered her broken down, mentally and physically. In fact, he could quote just the number of times the word 'docile' had appeared in that record of hers. He stared with narrowed eyes at the rigid girl in front of him for a few moments, noting the dead emotionless eyes, a drastic change from her recent outburst. Undoubtedly waiting for her punishment for speaking without permission in front of her CO. His full lips quirked suddenly as the hard eyes softened a little and a flicker of something crossed the slowly thawing pair of green eyes.

Amusement… and a mild dash of respect.

So, this girl is not as broken as Manticore claimed. Must have been one hell of an actress to pull that much cotton over Manticore's huge eyes, he mused with amusement. But this amazing actress can't seem to hold herself together while being ridiculed at. Let's see how much annoyance this girl can take before she breaks again, 494 chuckled to himself, in his head of course; he couldn't blow his cover at this particularly tantalizing time.                            

'What is that, soldier? Did I forgot I gave you permission to speak earlier?' he snapped, but those green eyes were twinkling cheekily.

'No sir,' Max replied tensely, as the hellish visions bombarded her overused brain. She was still staring into the blank wall and completely missed the tell tale twinkle.

'332960073452, I can't hear you!' he raised his voice a couple of notches and almost grinned as he could see the way she tried to hide a retort. She almost succeeded but his eyes were quicker. _Oh man, he thought to himself, _this is fun.__

'SIR, NO SIR!' she shouted, all the while she was cursing him under her breath. _Why did I have the urge to defy him at every possible opportunity? Damn him! Hello Psy-Ops… again. Ugh,_ she groaned silently. _I'm dead. Absolutely… no doubt about it…_

He kept his face hardened with displeasure, but he couldn't do anything about his sparkling eyes as he addressed the soldier in front of him. 'So, what exactly did I hear earlier?' he pressed, harder.

Max was almost trembling as she tried to think of a way to get herself out of this huge mess. What now? She thought hysterically. This answer would decide her future, and for the love of God, she couldn't think of one! What happened to all her 'witty rejoinders'?!

'I can't hear you, soldier!' 494 roared but he couldn't seem to stop the glint that was dancing very clearly in his hazel eyes. _Ah yes, this is fun, all right. I'm having the time of my life!  He knew without a doubt that this girl was having the worst time in her entire life, and that cheeky glint grew bigger. _

'If I hear correctly, it was something about your foot making contact with my ass. How do you explain that, 452?' he said sternly, frowning heavily for emphasis. 

Max nearly groaned out loud a his latest query. She tore her fixed gaze from the white wall as she turned reluctantly towards her waiting CO, trying hard to come out with a satisfying answer. Her hastily lined up explanation scattered rapidly from her head as she faced her brother's twin. Her insides twisted to hard knots as she saw the frowning man. Rapidly, she tried to scrounge for her missing thoughts to form some sort of sentences before the carelessly lined up thoughts broke free again as her frantic gaze stumbled with his laughing eyes.

Which resulted in an undignified reaction on her part, her jaw dropped opened in surprise. 

_What the…?!_

_He... he… he's laughing at... ME?! _she thought confusedly, _I can't believe it, he's actually enjoying this! Oh my God!!… What an ASSHOLE! _All thoughts of Psy-Ops gone, she grabbed hold of her missing composure and opened her mouth as her sarcasm started to make its appearance. Before she could utter a single word, the sound of knocking filled the tense room as her CO raised his eyebrows and called out for entry. 

The door was pushed opened and a number of soldiers marched in. In her angry state, she didn't even realize that the newcomers had been seated comfortably in the waiting chairs as they waited for the briefing to begin. 

'452, you could stand there if you want to... or you could have a seat,' 494 said dryly, despite his emerald eyes gleaming with mirth.

Max clenched her teeth in anger as her face started to burn fiercely red. Without a word, she walked stiffly towards the waiting soldiers and choose the farthest chair she could find from her obnoxious CO. _This is gonna be one LONG mission, she thought tiredly, _and this is only the briefing_. She pushed every single thought away and tried to concentrate on what her CO was telling all of them._

_to be continued.._


	5. chapter 5

Title: into the wild  
Author: sue  
Rating: PG  
Show: DA  
Pairing: M/A  
Genre: Romance/Adventure  
Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous - *methinks!* X5494. Then the unit was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues..

***

thanks for your really great reviews!! I love it so much!! :) and don't worry, I'll post the next chapter for anything and everything really soon. I'm not that evil to keep torturing you guys for very long ;) hee

and thank you to Maia for betaing. She's an angel all right :)

***

A small bird flew above the treetops. It turned its wings slightly, dipped lower and skimmed the green leafy canopy before plunging through one of the gaps and disappearing from view. Its russet coloured feathers gleamed under the bright moonlight as it flapped its wings and dived between the thick branches. It landed on one of the dark branches and fluffed its ruffled feathers as it looked about its surroundings with its small dark, beady eyes. Slowly, it cocked its head aside as it surveyed the activities that were happening underneath its tree before flying off into the night. 

Down below on the floor of the forest, Max was sitting down with her back to a tall tree as she glanced at the others. She leaned her head against the hard trunk and heaved a tired sigh as she looked without interest at the other members of her unit. Max turned her head a little and she caught sight of a beautiful red haired as she laughed at something a tall blonde man was saying. Despite her recent preoccupation, she smiled as she stared at the laughing girl. During her forced stay in Manticore, the red haired 751 had been one of the reasons she hadn't broken down entirely and her infectious gaiety had helped as well in keeping her sane as they had gotten closer. 

As if she realized Max had been watching her, 751 turned and waved cheerily at her before she grabbed the serious faced man and dragged him off somewhere. Max shook her head as she saw that 751 was speaking fast as she hauled 634 along. She has no idea how 751 could be this.. cheerful, after living all her life in Manticore. And another funny thing was that the chatterbox 751 was always seen in the company of the serious, quiet 634. The tall fair-haired man seemed to have no problem with the talkative girl. 

Max turned her attention back to the little clearing after the duo disappeared and she stared quietly as she saw that the other girl in her unit, 238 was getting ready for sleep. She turned a little as she tried to find her CO and his second-in-command; they were talking together earlier, but somehow both of them were not around anymore. _Now, that's good, she almost grinned as she heaved a huge sigh, _I don't want to deal with him just yet._       _

Pushing away some stray hairs that were plastered against her heated face, she recalled the last four days. Despite her recent training, right now she was bone tired and after hellish days of trudging through the thick dark forest, she couldn't wait for civilization again. 

Even if that meant Manticore, but right now… No. Manticore was _not_ an option. _No more Manticore for me,_ she thought grimly and as she suddenly realized the train of her thoughts, she looked around with a little hint of fear, worried that the rest of the unit might somehow had smelt her sudden plan to escape. But somehow everyone else was too busy to pay her any attention. Suddenly she saw her CO as he was discussing something with his second-in-command, _dammit__! He's back!,_ and her thoughts flew back to the last four days. Somehow, she could sense it every time his gaze was on her as he looked her way. And he seemed to be doing that a lot, she thought and suddenly she could feel the blush that was creeping into her cheeks and she recalled with absolute clarity the aloof way she had started to adopt whenever he was around. _The farther, the better,_ she thought decisively, _being around him is.. confusing. And as in right now, she couldn't afford to be confused. She had to be as clear headed as she could or she wouldn't make it out successfully. And getting the hell out of Manticore was a priority. The one at the very top for her list of things to do. Her throat constricted as she looked around her and she realized that she was thirsty._

Very thirsty.

Instantly, she turned to her backpack and started rummaging for her bottle. A frown flitted through her expression as she realized that she was out of water. _When was the last time I had a drink? Too long. __Damn! Now I have to go and get some. _Her mind started back tracing their path and she recalled a small spring earlier in their route. _That will do, she thought to herself as she rose and started walking towards her CO who was now standing alone as he perused some papers. With each new step, her spine straightened and by the time she reached his side, she looked like she had an iron rod for a spine._

'Permission to speak, sir,' she said briskly, her blank eyes were trained just above his broad shoulders. 

'Yes 452, what is it?' 494 drawled, and his eyes started to gleam mischievously. The last four days had been quite dull and uneventful as he had noticed how 452 had purposely distanced herself from him. He would _not_ let that happen again. She was too intriguing to be far for too long. He raised an amused brow and looked down at her, his hand loosely placed over his chest, waiting for her to start speaking. 

'Permission to venture out for some water, sir. I need to replenish my supply, sir,' she said without emotion as she stared at the unmoving forest behind him. 

The smirk that was hovering over his lips grew and he grinned with satisfaction. 'What a coincidence soldier. _I need to replenish too. So, what are you waiting for? Let's go.' 494 grabbed his bottle and his brow rose at her surprised face, 'or are you waiting for a direct order?'_

'Sir, no sir,' Max gritted her teeth before walking woodenly in his wake. 

'511, you're in charge for a while,' 494 threw a look at his second-in-command and the other man nodded, understanding the unsaid order. 'Hurry up 452, you're worse than an old lady with a cane,' he said cheekily as he turned to look at her who was purposely lagging behind. 

Max swallowed the instant retort with a little difficulty, closed her eyes for a second and tried to calm herself down by counting from ten. _Ten.. Nine.. great, seems to be working. Eight.._

'452, are you by any chance ignoring me?' a deep voice interrupted her silent thoughts.

_How could he be this.. annoying!! she cried out in her head but she replied briskly, 'No sir. I have no idea where you got that idea.. sir,' before she sent a heated glare at him for good measure. But a second later, she looked purposely ahead again because there was no way she would let that smart aleck of a CO see it. _

But her second of insolence had not gone unnoticed. 494's eyes sparkled as he noticed that fiery spark in her usually blank eyes. _Getting all riled up, huh? Good, the thought with a grin. 'You know what 452, for a soldier you're not that adapted and not that good in hiding your emotions. You're more transparent than a bright red flag in an empty field,' he said conversationally._

'I'm sorry sir,' she apologized insincerely, gritting her teeth in the process, 'I'll do my best and try harder, sir.' 

'Good. Or else you _will_ fail to get through your missions,' he lectured condescendingly, 'Make sure you keep those in your head, soldier.'

_I'm sorry sir. I'll do my best and try harder, sir, she mocked herself silently. How on earth could she be the perfect soldier in front of Renfro and the rest of Manticore but whenever she faced 494, she became a mass of emotions waiting to erupt? How could this smart aleck 494 do this to her? Unconsciously she frowned; she couldn't keep calling him 494, that was for sure. Feeling a little rebellious, she almost grinned as she mused, __I'll name him Alec. That suits him perfectly. _He's such a smart aleck,_ before her eyes narrowed, _such an annoying and irritating smart aleck._ _

'And furthermore,' 49.. Alec, she reminded herself determinedly, continued, 'I can tell how much you want me.'

Inwardly, she rolled her eyes. _Maybe I should've named him Dick after all. But the obedient soldier replied, 'No sir,' but she couldn't stop herself from adding, 'I'm afraid you're wrong sir.'_

'Really?' he asked, grinning widely, 'are you sure about that, 452?' he smiled lazily and her heart skipped a beat. 

No! He does _not_ have a gorgeous smile, sternly she said to herself before another thought decided to make its presence known; it's more like a heart-stopping, dazzling one. She swallowed hard before she trusted herself enough to open her mouth and answered, 'Yes sir.' But there was some hint of hesitation and she cringed, hoping he had missed it entirely. 

494 turned his head and stared at the silent soldier as conflicting emotions raced through her closed face. Uncertainty, a little bit of anger, bewilderment, annoyance and he smiled as he saw the fire banking in that pair of dark eyes. He didn't know why but he loved seeing those eyes filled with those flames. What the..?! _Love??_ That was a first all right. He frowned as the foreign word kept repeating itself in his head. Now what the hell was wrong with him? He'd never found himself in this kind of situation before.

In doubt.

All his life he had made his decision quickly and swiftly after he weighed all the pros and cons, and with the aid of his enhanced mind, that only took a second or two. But now, he couldn't seem to make any rational decisions whenever she was around. He shrugged it aside as he knelt beside her and started to fill his bottle, he would think it over later. 

'Let's go 452, we're going to have an early day tomorrow. I _do not _want you to fall asleep in the middle of the mission, shark DNA or no shark DNA,' he quipped after their bottles were filled.

Max started counting to five before she answered, 'Yes, sir!' Then, she walked as fast as she could so she nothing would burst out that she'd deeply regret later.

'What's the hurry, soldier? Can't wait to get rid of me?' he asked and Max could easily imagine the ever present smirk securely in place.

'No sir, but as you said earlier, we _are_ going to have an early day tomorrow. I was thinking that you really need your rest, sir.'

494's grin grew as he heard the barely restrained insolence in her voice, but he let it pass and without changing his stride, he caught up with her.  

***

'Okay, just a quick reminder, we'll start moving at 0300. I've gone through this with 511 and we've come to the agreement that we'll have better results in pairs, so I'm going to split us up. 238 will be paired with 751,' he looked towards the two transgenics and they nodded, '511 will be with 634,' he turned to his second-in-command and the other man just cocked his head in agreement, 'which leaves 452. You're going with me. Any questions?'

Max's eyes widened as she heard the last few sentences. What? Spending another day with Alec? _Not if I can help it, _she thought determinedly. 'Permission to speak, sir,' and she continued after he nodded, 'I'm not sure if I'm your best choice, sir.'

'Of course you are. Your specialty is communications and I need those. Any _other_ question? 

'No sir,' she answered flatly but as she saw that amused glint, she almost growled. Still, she turned with the others after they were dismissed and headed towards her sleeping bag.

'Hey, what's wrong 452?' the bubbly red haired asked, 'you didn't look too happy.'

Max sighed as she pulled out her sleeping back, 'Nothing girl, nothing is wrong. You go and sleep.' _I don't want to talk about it.. Alec. If possible I just want to forget that he even exists!_

She smiled brightly at the frowning girl and remarked, 'Your beauty sleep 751. We're gonna have an early day tomorrow.' Even though she still looked skeptical, she nodded before sliding into her bag. 

'Goodnight gorgeous,' she said sleepily and Max smiled lightly at her nickname. If anyone else had called her that, they wouldn't have lived to see the next sunrise but somehow 751 had managed to avoid any serious retribution on her part. 

She got into her own bag and stared at the clear night sky and her thoughts started to wander. _How will I get through tomorrow?_, her brows furrowed as she thought it over. Tomorrow.. or today, she corrected herself after glancing at the star filled sky, was not going to be her day. And this was all because of her Commanding Officer.    

What kind of a CO was he? He didn't look too responsible or capable for that matter and all he seemed to be interested in was getting on her nerves. He was nothing like Zack. She clenched her teeth as the thought of her dead brother sneaked in, Zack would make absolute sure that _they were_ safe before he thought about himself. But she let it slide as she started thinking about tomorrow. If everything went as planned, by this time tomorrow, she would be free. She closed her eyes and moved lower into her warm bag. _I'll make my move after we have the device. _Max sighed and she knew that her escape plan was not as foolproof as she would've wanted. She didn't want to be as reckless as she had been on her last escape but .. 

Damn! Why did everything have to be this hard? But then, who could say that life was fair? As far as she knew, life was undeniably unfair. She raised one hand and pushed her heavy hair away from her sticky neck and her eyes narrowed as her gaze stumbled onto something. 

Alec was sitting down with his back against a tree, head bowed as he went through some papers that were resting on his bent knee. She was pushed to the memory of their first meeting as bright rays from the full moon shone down onto him. That morning she couldn't really see his features as they were hidden by the dazzling sun but now, everything was in clear view.

Her gaze strayed slowly over his cheek, highlighted by the moon beams and she could see how they illuminated his gleaming hazel eyes. Max smiled as she saw some loose stray strands of hair had fallen enticingly over his eye. Unknowingly she almost chuckled as he lifted an arm and unconsciously pushed those hairs away. She continued to stare and she saw his light frown and the way he bit on his nail as he was deep in thought. 

_Oh my, he sure does look adorable,_ she thought wistfully before she sucked in a bewildered breath. What the..?! _That's it! All those sleepless night have finally gotten to your head and you're going insane, _she reprimanded herself sharply. She closed her eyes firmly and forced herself to go to sleep as she tried very hard to push the vision of a sparkling pair of hazel eyes away.       

***

'Anything else you want to add 511? No? All right then, let's move out.'

All of them nodded and started moving with their predetermined partner. Max closed her eyes, took a very deep breath and started after her irritating Commanding Officer. This is going to be a _very_ long day, she thought tiredly to herself.

_An hour or so later.._

They had been moving silently through the thick dark forest but now, the two transgenics were crouching behind some bushes as they peered ahead in the dark, straight towards the hidden warehouse. Around them, the forest was wrapped in a heavy blanket of darkness as it waited for the arrival of dawn. 

'I see four guards patrolling around the warehouse,' he whispered softly and Max shivered slightly as his warm breath caressed the back of her neck.

_No! Stop thinking about that! You need a clear head, remember that!_

'Affirmative sir,' she answered simply a moment later after she scanned the whole area. 

'The others will take care of those guards situated up in those trees,' he said, motioning to some trees enclosing the warehouse. Obediently she zoomed her vision in and nodded in agreement, 'but those four on the ground, that's our job. Are you sure you can handle it?' he drawled, looking down at her with mocked up doubt. 

Max resisted the urge to shout at him, but just barely, as it was getting harder by the minute. She clenched her teeth tightly and a hysterical thought popped in, if she keep this up, she'd ground her teeth flat soon, real soon. What had she done to deserve this, she ranted desperately. She was not such a bad person, right? Did the Blue Lady purposely want to shove her over the edge or something? 'I'm sure it won't be a problem, sir,' she forced the sentence out of her mouth with difficulty as she stared dead ahead, her cheeks were flushed red. 

But this time that little interesting event slipped 494's notice as he ran his gaze slowly over the dark area, scanning every single inch of the vast land in front of them. 'I expect the others are already in their designated spots?' he asked briskly, his mind already ahead in the mission.

She was silent for a few seconds as she listened for the rest of her unit. 'Affirmative sir, and in 40 seconds we're going to cut all communication.'

'Good. Maintain zero communication throughout the operation. Move out,' he ordered quickly and Max nodded as she slipped her headgear off before following his lead.  

_To be continued.._


	6. chapter 6

Title: into the wild  
Author: sue  
Rating: PG  
Show: DA  
Pairing: M/A  
Genre: Romance/Adventure  
Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge set by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops, she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous - *methinks!* X5494. The unit then, was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues..

*****

thank you so much for your reviews! And for those who had been asking for an update (you know who you are lol) well, here it is ;) wonder no more folks and tell me what you think, I need those inspirations to keep writing since my finals had started to stare me in the face.. so, you know what to do ;)

and for those who had been reading 'anything and everything', don't worry, chapter 15 is being betaed even as we speak and I'll probably update this weekend.. so, just wait patiently ;) 

and a warm thank you goes to Maia, my amazing angel :)

*****

Chapter 6.

The empty penthouse was filled with the clatter of fast fingers running over the keyboard. In his usual corner, Logan sat in front of his computer as he went through a new batch of reports from his contacts. He ran his fingers through his tousled hair, as his watery eyes continued to squint at the screen. _There must be something I can do to help Max, _he thought tiredly as he opened another one of the countless files he had been perusing over for the last few months, _something that can take Manticore down for good and free Max from that haunting prison. _

Max.. the brazen girl whom he had been secretly in love with for ages, but he had been too scared to tell her so. Just the thought of her laughing at him as he was pouring his heart out was one of the reasons he had never been too forthcoming on that particular issue. _But when I succeed, I'll get her back and she'll be able to see for herself how I really feel for her. And she can make her choice accordingly and I'm sure I won't be disappointed. I mean, what other man would accept her as she is, after knowing who.. or what she really is?_

He groaned as he dragged his hand over his eyes before he rubbed the heel of his hand over his closed eyes. I will not give up, he vowed to himself. He pushed the niggling thought that since there was a remote.. and very miniscule possibility that Max's capture had been his fault, he was just only trying to atone for something he had messed up by getting her out of there. 

No! Of course not. Firstly, he mentally ticked his fingers, it was NOT his fault, he had made a decision which he had deemed right at that time and Max had agreed with him. She had understood his reasoning, and knew that toppling Manticore down was the number one thing to do and he had made the right choice. Even though the results had not been to his liking, he didn't regret making them. That was just a step in pushing Manticore flat on its face. Max's capture had been an unexpected obstacle in this dangerous journey but it would not sway him from his ultimate motive. 

He would get her back in the end. He strengthened his resolve and nodded to himself, it was only a matter of time before he had enough materials for the ultimate broadcast and before that time arrived, he just had to keep searching for them. With one last sigh, he turned back to his ever waiting monitors and started to go through another batch of stuff. He had just finished reading a couple of completely useless materials as from behind him, came a clatter of footsteps. 

'Hey Logan, what have you been up to?' a short haired blonde girl asked cheerily as she dumped her backpack on a nearby table.

'Asha,' he greeted the girl dryly as he pushed his glasses up, 'ever heard about knocking?'

Asha just raised one fair brow as she turned towards him. 'And you're going to hear that over the sound of your keyboard? I thought I'd save myself the trouble and invite myself in,' she shrugged noncommittally.

Logan managed to keep the light frown in place for another few seconds before he asked, 'So, what brings you here?'

'Oh, funny you should ask. I want to see whether Eyes Only can help us with something,' she said before turning to her discarded bag and started rummaging.

'I gather that would be for S1W?' Logan asked with a sigh, 'Would you mind waiting for a little while? I think he's in a middle of something right now.'

Slowly Asha turned to face him, 'I see. Do you know what it is?'

Logan spun towards his blinking monitors and started closing the files, 'I don't have any idea. He doesn't tell me everything you know.'

Eyes narrowed, Asha took a step forward and managed to catch a few glimpses before Logan managed to close everything. 'You're still working on that Manticore, huh?' she asked and an odd twinkle lightened up her eyes, 'Why are you so sure that she's even alive in the first place? You told me what had happened that night. And you also told me that she would rather die that being recaptured by Manticore. So, tell me Logan, why are you so goddamn adamant about all this?'

'I have this.. feeling that she's still out there.. somewhere,' he replied as he leaned back in his chair, 'And I know I'm not wrong.'

Asha ignored the heavy feeling that sneaked around her heart and replied, 'Well, I guess you can't help me then. Okay, see you around.' 

She turned, grabbed her bag and let herself out of the penthouse quickly. Once the door clicked shut behind her, she leaned against the hard wood and wiped her teary eyes dry before she started walking again. But her head hung sadly with each step she took.

Inside the now almost empty place, Logan frowned at the abrupt departure but he shrugged that aside before submerging himself back into his research. A couple of hours later, he stiffened before whispering, 'Wait a second,' as his heart started pumping furiously, 'This is it! This is what I need!' 

Grinning widely, he started planning for the extremely essential broadcast. 

_Soon Max, I'll get you back.. soon._

~*~

The full moon basked the dark forest with its light, calming rays but the tall towering trees sent sinister looking slithers of shadows all over the forest, covering half of the undergrowth under its black veil. Under the same cover, two men were crouching as they surveyed their immediate surroundings. The dark haired man glanced backwards and tipped his head at his partner. He made a few quick gestures and the blonde man nodded once, and together they blurred forward as one, before they took different routes and leapt easily into the tall stout trees. 

511 landed lightly behind a man holding a rifle and coldly, without any feelings, his hand flew and snapped the man's neck with a single motion. Then instantly, he jumped down, ignoring the thud as the lifeless body tumbled down after him and he sprinted towards another tree.. and another guard. 

A few feet away, 634 was doing the same thing, eliminating one guard after another, coldly, without remorse and in a very efficient manner. 

In the opposite part of the gloomy forest, 751 and 238 were on a terminating spree. They bounded into the trees on light, graceful feet and landed besides the unsuspecting guards and a second later, the number of enemy casualties rose.  

751 was still for a second as she crouched beside a tree, completely hidden under the darkness, the lifeless body of a guard was just mere inches away but she was completely oblivious to the horrifying scenery scattered around her. She took a deep breath and blurred to another tree, her flaming red hair streaming backwards, away from her face. She hardly felt the way cool night air whispered against her skin as she moved faster. A funny unknown emotion streaked over her as she moved across the area and she was too startled by its presence, she almost missed a step. 

_Was this the much sought after sense of.. freedom? The one 452 had fought valiantly to possess? _

The bewildering question was pushed aside for a moment as she saw the faint shadow of another guard. Without pausing for breath, she leapt easily onto the tree, landing on a tough branch and she looked upward at the unmoving guard. Her eyes gauged the distance and with the agility from her feline DNA, she bounded lightly until she was directly behind him. But somehow, a sliver of dark shadow passed over the guards' eyes and instantly he turned around, eyes wide with sudden alertness. But his quick response was no match for transgenic's speed. 

751 blurred forward, grabbed the man's head and twisted it rapidly. A small pop sounded and his body ceased to move as life flew out of it, except for a spasm that ran through him; his fingers twitched and unconsciously pulled the trigger. A second later, all hell broke loose as the shot reverberated throughout the dark forest and alerted the other guards into a flurry of motions. 

'Oh crap, there goes the element of surprise,' she grumbled under her breath as she clenched her teeth in anger. She looked around quickly and after her gaze had locked onto a new target, she jumped from the tall tree in a single bound and blurred to end another guard's life. 

So that her CO and 452 could whisk the device away without a problem.

~*~

Max was a step behind as they moved through the thick undergrowth. She glanced one particularly sharp thorn torn her sleeve, leaving a long jagged hole in place. Was it just her overly used imagination or had Alec purposely chosen this.. prickly path? Muttering angrily she narrowed her eyes at his back and continued to grumble, 'You just wait, I'll get you back for this.'

A tiny gasp passed over her lips as suddenly the dark blond head turned towards her. Instantly, her jaw tightened as she waited for his undoubtedly annoying reply. Her lips thinned in anticipation as she saw his lips start to move.

'I can see the guards now. One of them, 11 0'clock,' he made a quick gesture, 'another two are at 2 o'clock. Can you see the last one?'

She turned a bewildered glance at him, a little lost by his sudden question. So, he can concentrate and actually make some sense if he wants to, huh? A tiny seed of respect dropped into her tumultuous mind before she even realized what had happened. She threw a quick glance and her gaze trailed over the line of his chiseled jaw as he scanned the area for the missing guard. She lifted her eyes a little and she saw the way his cheekbones were highlighted by the soft moon. 

'Are you done staring dear? We need to start moving now or we are soo gonna screw up the timing,' he said wryly as he kept his sharp gaze ahead.

Max's eyes widened before heat flooded all over her face and she mumbled something incoherent. 

'Ahh, there's the last one. He's been hiding hasn't he?' her CO clucked his tongue in disapproval, 'I don't think these guards are what you can call efficient. All of them look like lazy bums to me. Just a waste of money to hire them in the first place. Good help is so hard to come by.'

Max shuffled uncomfortably, which was not very hard to accomplish since she was completely surrounded by thorny bush and one extremely annoying man. 

'You take those two, the ones at 2 o'clock and I'll take care of the rest. Come on then, let's go,' he said as he stood quickly. 

Max followed his lead and stood up too. She squinted and marked her two victims in the dark as she forced her mind to concentrate on the mission for once. 

As she was preparing to blur, Alec turned to her and whispered, 'and yeah, I chose this prickly path on purpose.' Grinning widely at her shocked expression, he blurred ahead, leaving her behind.

Her jaw taut with fury, she followed in his wake, shooting ire filled glares into his broad muscular shoulder.

_Oh, quit with the bodily descriptions already! He's got a great bod, end of story, she reprimanded herself sternly as she blurred past the tall towering trees,_ you don't have to remind yourself on every occasion about that particular fact_. _

_You're acting worse than a giddy schoolgirl! _

Which was worse because she had never been a schoolgirl and as far as she knew, giddiness was not a trait the technicians had been ordered to add into their DNA's. So, the next logical question would be why?

Why?

Why did he managed to rile her up every single time he opened his mouth? She was slowly fuming as she neared her two guards and without a second thought, she rushed towards one of them and wrapped her arms around his neck before knocking his head hard against the nearby wall. 

'How I wish I could do this to _him,' she muttered angrily, 'but you're a nice substitute.'_

She pushed his body away and turned to face the remaining guard.

He was looking at her through narrowed slits before he hissed, 'Transgenics.'

'What the..' Max didn't get to finish her sentence as the guard charged and literally knocking her off her feet.

'He's strong.. too damn strong,' she thought in amazement as she flipped back to her feet. Without giving him a chance to react, she lunged and with a back kick, she turned in midair and kicked him square on the chest. 

_That ought to leave him wheezing, she smirked in glee as she watched him take a few steps to regain his balance back. She continued to watch as he just shook his head at her before he ran.. straight at her. His big fist connected with the side of her face and she almost groaned as stars filled her vision with its bright, dancing spots. _

_What the hell just happened? Did that overgrown gorilla just sent me sprawling to the ground?_

Quickly she got back on her feet and circled the man, trying to find an opening to smash through. She smiled as she caught sight of the tiny crack in his defense and she took the opportunity. She leapt upwards, spun herself in the air, stretch out her hand and she grabbed his shoulders tightly before she flipped herself again. Then she lashed quickly, hitting him forcefully behind the back of his knee. She pulled herself away from him and landed on light feet. A second later, she tried to stop the cold fingers of fear as it crawled over her prickling spine. 

His neck was bare.

He was as strong as a transgenic but the back of his neck was surprisingly clear. No barcodes. _What the hell was going on here?_

'What are you exactly? You're too.. unpolished for a transgenic, and add the fact that you look like an overgrown gorilla. That's a dead giveaway,' she said as the guard eyed her with loathing.

'How dare you to put me in the same level as you? You're nothing but animals!'

'Aww, did I just hurt your big, gigantic ego?' she replied before rushing forward and slamming her fist into his face.

He moved out of her way but he wasn't fast enough, his head snapped sideways from the force of her punch.

'That feels very good,' she grinned and rained him with swift blows. 

He managed to block some of them but she managed to draw some blood. Max was breathing hard as she wiped the thin trail of blood that was running from her lips. Before she could afflict some more pain on her sparring partner, an iron like grip grabbed her from behind, imprisoning her within the circle of his hands. Reflex kicked in and she pried her right hand away and with all her might, she smashed her elbow into her captor's face. Warm blood sprayed her arm with its sticky substance but the grip around her remained as tight as ever. Without another thought, she moved her head forward, before knocking it into the head behind hers.

Instantly, the hand around her loosened its hold on her and a small moan sounded as he clutched his painful head in his hand. Max ignored the faint headache that had started to make its presence known and readied herself for another round with these two unknown but very strong opponents. She forced her breathing to slow down as her eyes darted from one man to another. 

'Have a great nap?' she asked the guard she had knocked out earlier but who was now up and running, ready to rumble. She wiped the blood at the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand and rushed forward, intent on finishing this as fast as she possibly could. She feinted a left and when he move to cover his exposed side, she plunged her fist into his other rib and listened with a satisfied smile as the ribs cracked under the force. But a cracked rib didn't deter him and Ape No 1, as she had dubbed him by now, charged, oblivious to the pain she had inflicted earlier. 

Ape No 2 who seemed to get his cue from the first ape, lunged at her and Max with her feet planted firmly to the ground, launched herself into the air as they rushed towards her. She sailed easily over their heads and as she landed, they changed direction and charged again. Gritting her teeth, she suppressed a heated growl and started to block their big fists from coming into contact with her body, but giving them punches and blows when she had the chance.

Fury surged through her as Ape Man 1 just grinned after she had broken his arm. 

'Okay.. this is getting freaky!'

'Need any help, my sweet?' someone drawled.

She sneaked a glance towards the source and growled low in her throat as Alec leaned one shoulder against the wall, watching her with amused eyes as she fought the two apes, hand placed loosely over his chest. 

'Oh shut up Alec,' mumbling softly in a tone she knew he would not hear as she grabbed Ape No 2's hand, and without batting an eyelid, she snapped the bones cleanly into two pieces. She tossed her hair back and spun around before bringing her fist towards Ape No 1's chin. Max turned her head a little as she tried to locate his partner and that second of wait cost her dearly. Ape No 1 who had seen her moment of hesitation, moved forward, a long jagged piece of wood in his grasp. He lunged towards her, brandishing the wood but 494 had seen the faint movement and moved in to intercept. He blurred, blocked the swing and with one quick motion, he smashed his fist onto the man's hand until the guard dropped the sturdy log. 

'Oh no, you don't. I know she's kinda.. moany on most occasions but hitting her is way too much don't you think?' he asked patronizingly. 

'I am NOT moany,' Max replied heatedly as she returned Ape No 2's kick with a few of her own. 

'You know soldier, you should sit down and listen to yourself sometime,' he wiggled his brow at her before he pulled out his gun and shot the guard unceremoniously between the eyes.  'He's out,' he said as he turned towards her and watched as the two of them fought each other.

Fury stormed through her and she smashed her elbow onto the side of his head, just under the skull and grunted with satisfaction as Ape No 2 crumpled. 

'They can't be ordinary men,' she gasped as she tried to catch her breath, 'They're as strong as we are.'

'I know,' her impossible CO nodded, 'but this is not the time to sit down and discuss this surprising phenomena. We're in the middle of a goddamn mission. And be thankful you're not alone 452, or right now you'd be floating around with a bright halo on your head and white wings on your back. Wait a second, are you sure you've been a good little soldier lately? Or are horns and a spiked tail more appropriate for you?'

She glared angrily at his grinning features and without saying another word, marched into the now unguarded warehouse. Max walked faster than ever as from behind her, he burst into delighted laughter at her predictable reactions.  

_to__ be continued..___


	7. chapter 7

Title: into the wild  


Author: sue  


Rating: PG13  


Show: DA  


Pairing: M/A  


Genre: Romance/Adventure  


Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge set by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops, she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous - *methinks!* X5494. The unit then, was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues..

*****

thanks for your reviews, I gonna love you guys forever for that :) and this chapter is dedicated to angel who had uncannily read my mind on what I'm gonna do with our fearless hero. You go girl! And also to panda who had helped me when this stupid comp won't let me dowload this chapter. *glares at the worthless machine* oh, don't forget Maia who helped me so very much :) thanks sweetie! And also to the rest of you who had read and ahem reviewed. 

I have one more word to say, enjoy! And hope you like it :)

*****

Chapter 7.

The moon glimmered in the early hours of morning, its calm and relaxing rays softening everything in their path; but the furious beauty who was marching angrily into the empty warehouse was surrounded by this angry shimmering haze. She tossed her black hair away agitatedly as she stomped inside.

'He is so.. so goddamn annoying! That's it, I'm getting the hell out of here, even if it kills me,' she paused for a second as a sudden burst of solitude swept over her and she shivered, completely overtaken by its intensity. 

__

I won't see him again, she thought with some degree of bleakness but she threw this weird feeling away. _That's a very good thing,_ she told herself sternly. _He's a pain in the ass and I'm more than happy _not_ to see him again._ Her jaw was set in a hard line as she contemplated her hasty plan. _We take the device and while on the way back, I'll just simply.. slip away without him noticing, and with luck in a couple of hours I'll be safely away from that.. that Alec. Not the best of plans but it's the best one I have. Maybe I should do something to distract him before I flee, hmm.. I'll have to do this as I go along. I hate these unplanned missions, _she thought bleakly to herself. 

Her thoughts wandered to the maps they had been given earlier that she had memorized in her head. The warehouse was in the middle of a dark, thick forest, but her sharp mind recalled something... A couple of miles from this exact spot, there was supposed to be a little hut. An old man had lived there and she knew without a doubt that he had a car. A car that would get her to the nearest civilization. 

For once in her life she was grateful that Logan had pushed her into that particular mission. He had insisted that she retrieve some vital information on something he had been working at that particular time. Truthfully, she had forgotten what it was; he had always had the tendency to poke his fingers into every pie of human sins. She had braved the forest half an hour later, found the place, sneaked in, got the much needed papers and she had gotten out, all without alerting the man that he had company. 

As the man had been quite paranoid, that had been a good thing. She hadn't wanted someone to go crazy on her, and looking at the facts about him, he'd do that for sure. Just looking at his house's location for one was enough. It was in the middle of nowhere and as far as she knew, no one knew he even existed. He must've had some serious problems with human contact. She had shrugged it aside at the time and after acquiring what she had come for, she had left, as quietly as she had come. 

She had been particularly glad to find out that she had been placed in the Seattle facility; escape would be relatively easy since she had been living in the city for years. She would know where to navigate and she had undoubtedly an upper hand as she knew about that little hidden house which was not in any maps. And she doubted that Manticore would find her right away if she was careful and quick.

Max nodded to herself as she made her mind up. After this she'd just slip the hell away from here and that was it. No one could stop her now. She stopped for a few seconds as she looked around the place, trying to get her bearing as she had stormed in without looking. Her eyes quickly swept around the room, taking in the sparse area and her eyes widened at the empty space. 

__

What the?! Had they made a terrible mistake? Was this some kind of trap, perhaps? Apprehension started creeping up and down her spine and she shivered. _Maybe it was hidden,_ she thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes and tried to locate the possible hiding place. As much as he was an annoying jerk, she doubted that her CO had made a mistake. Manticore didn't take mistakes very amiably. And as Manticore had also bestowed him with the responsibility of a Commanding Officer, that meant he was not as brain dead as she first presumed. Or maybe he had bugged them enough and the powers that be had relented.. or something like that. To make matters short, this also meant that the chances that his Intel was wrong were relatively small. The device had to be here somewhere.

Max stood rock still and let her gaze roam around the room. _If I were a potentially fatal device made for world destruction in mind, where would I be?_

'You do love to daydream.. come on soldier, focus!'

Max was startled out of her reverie by the cheery voice speaking from behind her. Would it be too much to ask for the earth to open up and swallow him whole? 'I'm trying to see if I can locate our objective, sir,' she said, trying hard to keep her brimming temper in check. 

'Ahh, you mean the device we were supposed to retrieve? Come on 452, don't tell me you thought it would be in plain view? Placed on a nice table, adorned with checked tablecloth perhaps and oh I don't know, glasses of bubbling champagne to celebrate our victory? Tsk.. Tsk.. which planet are you living on my sweet?' he shook his head in wonder, his hazel eyes gleaming cheekily as fires started banking in hers. 'I would be very disappointed that my skills wouldn't be needed if it were really shockingly in plain view.'

He strode towards one corner and knelt before running his fingers slowly over the plastered wall. Max silently watched him tip his head to one side as his hand continued their search; looking for tiny cracks and some sort of invisible latch. _What beautiful hands he has,_ she sighed as the objects of her stare continued their roaming. She gasped as she realized the train of her thoughts. Damn! I'm moaning over his _hands_ now? A minute ago it was his back, what the hell is wrong with me? I..

'Bingo!' 

She snapped her attention to him and saw his excited grin. He turned back towards the white wall and ran his long sensitive fingers along one tiny crack. His eyes half closed, he ran his light touch over the hair wide rift before he suddenly pushed against one particular spot. Instantly a medium sized square appeared as the portion sprang forward. 

494 pried it opened and Max caught a glimpse of a big sturdy safe. She almost gasped as he turned quickly and asked, 'Well, maybe it's a bit useless to ask if you have any hair pins, isn't it?'

Before she could even open her mouth to answer, he turned back and patted his pockets. 'Aha, there you are,' and rolled a leather bundle opened. 

'Is that what I think it is?' Max burst out as she stared at the familiar kit, 'you're a _thief_ too?' she tried to hide her surprise as he picked up a couple of tools.

'Sorry to burst your bubbles sunshine, but Manticore didn't just taught us the finer skills of assasination,' he shrugged and turned his attention back to the safe. His eyes turned somber as he studied the big iron safe. 'This won't take long,' he said and started picking the lock, gently playing with the lock until it gave way. He opened the iron door as Max took a few steps closer and together they stared at the tiny screen. 

'This one can only be accessed by the designated palm print,' he told her before taking out a small tube and spraying it straight at the surface of the panel. Instantly, the needed print showed up, a white silhouette among the darkness around them. He slipped his hand into his bag and drew out a small flat case. He flipped it open and quickly put the transparent glove on.

'And here is where I need your help. Remember your dossier? There's a code I told you to memorize?' after she nodded he added, 'punch in your code when I tell you to.'

Then, he moved closer to the panel and cautiously put his own gloved hand over the visible print, pressing against it firmly. The red blinking light turned instantly to green. 

'Now.'

Max moved forward and keyed in her code as besides her he was doing the same thing, entering another set of codes. With a simple beep, the door sprang open. 

'Learn anything yet 452?' he asked with an engaging grin as he took the glove off with a snap. 

'Oh yes master, I sure do,' she mumbled as discretely she stored his moves for future use. Even though she had been reluctant to admit it, he was good. 

He opened the door wider and drew out what Manticore had wanted very badly. She narrowed her eyes as they fell onto the thing itself, 'Is that it?' she asked unimpressed.

'For something so small,' he answered, patting the small roundish ball affectionately, 'it sure packs a wallop. Once activated, this little beauty is worse than a couple of nuclear bombs put together, frankly speaking.'

'Hmm.. now I can see why Manticore would want to get its grubby paws on this,' she mused as he packed the device securely in a lead case he had brought along.

'What does it do exactly? You didn't tell us about that in briefing,' she asked, intrigued by his earlier remarks.

'Let me put it this way. What this lil darlin' could do,' he nodded towards the case, 'can make the Pulse seemed like a baby burping.'

'That bad huh?'

'Worse.'

'And you have absolutely no problem handing that dangerous.. thing to Manticore? None whatsoever?'

He shrugged as he checked the case, 'Nope, I'm just doing what I've been ordered to do. Come, we have to start moving.' Without another word he exited the room and a second later Max followed.

As they stepped outside, a shadow materialized besides them silently and Max felt the short hairs on her neck rise.

~*~

__

A few hours before.

'Okay, let's go through the plan again. Four of us take down the guards surrounding the perimeter. The remaining two, one of them would be me, move in, take the four guards and let's just pray that they don't have any urge to double the guards or anything.'

'Oh no, they won't. My Intel is damn accurate, remember?' his second-in-command raised one questioning brow.

'Maybe, yeah,' 494 agreed grudgingly but as 511's brow inched higher, 494 grinned sheepishly, 'Yeah, all the time. I'll go in, crack the safe open, get the device, place it in your capable hands and leave the scene. You then will be responsible of getting it back to Renfro. Let's hope she'll be pleased enough to grant us some days off for a change.'

'In your dreams 494 and when did you start to have this delusions?' his SIC asked, grinning in amusement.

'Ah well, there's nothing wrong with dreaming right?' 494 sighed as he flipped the papers that he had been holding, looking for something. The shadows moved and shifted as the wind whipped past the branches and unconsciously 494's eyes flicked around, trying to find the girl that had been hounting his thoughts. His lips tugged into a hint of a smile as he spied her. She was sitting with her back to a tree as she stared in front of her with a lost expression on her face. 

'Ahem, earth to 494.'

He turned a startled gaze to 511, looking a little lost himself, 'What?'

'The mission at hand?'

'Oh yeah, I'll get the device, give it to you and after that we separate. Hopefully if there's anyone left to tail us they'll go after me and you'll be free to get back to base. So, did I miss anything?'

'Nope, I don't think so. That's it I guess. Do you want to gather the others for a quick briefing?'

'No, let them settle down first,' 494 replied as his eyes strayed towards the girl.

'Okay.'

~*~

__

The present.

'Here, go!' 494 thrust the case into 511's hand and the latter took it before melting back into the shadows. 'Come on, come on, let's go!' he said to her and they took the opposite route, blurring in their haste to get away. 

__

All right, Max told herself as she followed him, _this is it. This would be the perfect time to slip unnoticed. Hopefully he'll be too busy to realize that I'm gone. Hah! Fat chance on that… but who knows? Maybe luck will be on my side for once._ Watching his moving back intently, she slowed down imperceptibly, distancing herself slowly from him little by little, bit by bit, waiting for the time to break free. She was so focused to find the perfect time, she was quite surprised to see that something had whizzed past her, just centimeters from her ear, something that should have never happened. Stunned, she turned back to find the source and cringed as a few more bullets flew past her. 

She spun back and ran faster, trying to outrun the bullets. But her second of hesitation had been the cost of their downfall, frankly speaking.

She blurred left and right, trying to escape the speeding pieces of metal and she knew that the distraction she had been hoping for had arrived. If she wanted out, this was the window of opportunity that had presented itself. Despite the danger around her, she slowed down a little and looked around wildly, trying to gauge her bearings. _There!_ she cried out in her head, _that's the way._ As she turned, ready to bolt, she caught sight of something from the corner of her eyes. Alec had spun around and he was shouting something. 

Out of the blue, she felt anger rise in her. She was poised to run and he had to pick that particular time to shout instructions? Or did he already know about her plan? As the chaos started to erupt around them, Max felt surprisingly afraid as he started running towards her. She could see that he was getting nearer as he blurred but for some reason her legs seemed rooted down and she couldn't force them to move. With wide eyes, she stared as in slow motion, he hurtled towards her. 

__

That's it. Now I'll never get away from Manticore. 

Even with that depressing thought in mind she was frozen on the spot. She saw as he raised his arms and that somehow broke the trance she was in. She spun, her weight braced on the balls of her heels and she had taken the first step before he slammed into her. Everything happened quickly, too quickly as she heard the tell tale whoosh of the speeding bullet, the way Alec had grunted as he crashed into her, sending them flying. 

Her groan was muffled as her face was pushed into the hard fabric of his shirt. She blinked a few times as she stared dizzily up into the hard contour of his chest. 

Hard muscular chest.

Rationality took over as she finally realized what had happened. For some reason unknown to her, Alec had gotten into his head to tackle her to the ground and now, with him on top of her, she was pinned. She couldn't move and she made another mistake.

She panicked.

Prying her hands off from his still body, she placed them on his chest and pushed him off her with a loud groan as she yelled, 'Get off me!'

He rolled over, assisted by her not-so-gentle shove and remained motionless. 

Max lifted her head slowly, a little apprehensive about the flying bullets and crouched, keeping her head down. Suddenly she realized that her hand was sticky and she almost wiped it off on her pants before she realized that the dark stains were too.. dark to be sweat. She studied her palm with narrowed eyes before her heart dropped frighteningly to her feet. 

Blood.

Her hand was dripping with blood.

Quickly she looked herself over but apparently she was unhurt. And if there was nothing wrong with her, that meant the blood was.. his.

Her head snapped towards her still CO, who had remained in the same position after she had pushed him off. She scrambled towards him on hand and foot, frightened by his unmoving body as bullets continued to fly over them. 

'Damn! This is not happening!' 

She ran her fingers over his shoulders, his ribs and his chest before she felt the spurting blood.

'Oh god,' she raked her hair as she grabbed some cloth before pressing hard on the wound to stop the bleeding. 'How could you do this to me? You were not supposed to take that stupid bullet for me. Look at what you've done to my plan,' she ranted as she pressed harder. 'Come on Alec, open your eyes. Come on, please, you can't do this to me. Alec please!' she cried out with a touch of hysteria, praying hard as she saw his pale features.

'Alec, you're supposed to be one of Manticore's finest or they wouldn't let you be a CO! You can't let a bullet take you down. For god's sake Alec! Open your eyes! Now!'

'Who's that poor Alec you've been yelling at?' he mumbled as his eyelids fluttered opened. 

'Oh my god, you're still alive,' she said lightly, bending to take a peek at his bullet wound and at the same time hiding her red eyes from view, 'No exit wound, I have to dig it out later but it seems clean enough and I don't think it hit any crucial arteries or organs. Judging by the entry wound, the bullet must've missed your heart by mere inches. And the bleeding has stopped,' she rambled on, turning around to hide her teary eyes as he struggled to sit. 

'Keep still!' she snapped and pushed him none too gently back to his back, 'I have to do something about it first.'

'Don't tell me you're worried?' he asked as he cringed at her ministrations. 

'No, more like dragging your ass in the middle of the night is not something I want to do right now,' she mumbled as she rummaged in her bag. 'I need to cauterize it too but not now. We have to relocate, do you think you can walk? But I have to bandage it first. Don't move,' she said, frowning as he got up.

494 closed his eyes and braced his weight on his elbow as the dark forest swam enticingly in front of him. He scooted slowly backwards and leaned against the nearest tree. 

'I told you to keep still,' she said briskly before wrapping the strips tightly over the wound.

'Wow, you have such gentle touch,' he gasped as she tightened the bandage.

'Oh, you're such a baby Alec,' she retorted, glaring at him from the corner of her eyes. There went her plan out the window. Now, she'd be stuck with taking care of him and that meant that her escape had to be pushed off for a while. But on the other hand since he was injured, he couldn't come after her as fast as he normally would, so that was good news. So, she'd have to sit tight until she was sure he could be on his own before she took off. That was the least she could do for him. She turned to him and frowned as she saw that he had been staring at her thoughtfully.

'What?' she asked cagily. 

'Why do you keep calling me Alec? Is that a.. code or something?'

Max could actually felt her jaw dropped open as she looked into his waiting face. _Damn! Did I call him that out loud?! Oh great, why can't I stop making such a fool out of myself whenever he is around? Okay.. how do I get out this one? Preferably with my ego intact._ But she was saved from answering as another burst of bullets soared through the air, whizzing just mere inches away.

'Come on, let's go! There's no time to talk!' she shouted, prompting him to his feet. She grabbed him under his arm and together, they ran off into the night. She practically had to drag him along. Max saw the way his blood dripped from her tight bandage and she nearly blanched, that was not good. 

Not good at all. 

__

to be continued..


	8. chapter 8

Chapter 8

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: this is a challenge set by mely and because it sounds so irresistible, *grin* I decided to take it up. Max and the others failed to blow up the DNA lab but she was recaptured. After months of Psy-ops, she was sent to a new unit and her CO is this drop dead gorgeous - *methinks!* X5494. The unit then, was sent on a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story continues..

*****

*sigh* after hours of wrestling with this stupid computer, finally! I got it uploaded.. ugh, I almost lost this chapter :( and thanks to Maia for betaing and another one to panda and angel who had waited patiently :) 

*****

Chapter 8.

With a sinking feeling she stepped down the stairs that lead into Foggle Tower. Asha sighed heavily as she looked with bleak eyes at her dark surroundings. _Logan was still very much in love with Max, more now than ever,_ she thought miserably and she had to admit that the possibility that he'd get over her was not likely. And if she was honest with herself, the probability that he'd get over Max for good would be something like nil but no, she was not ready for such brutal truth. Denial was so much a better companion for her now. She groaned and she brought her shaking hand to her face, pushing the heels of her palm into her eyes as she slid down against the wall in a dejected heap. 

'He still loves her,' she mumbled as she wrapped her hands around her knee, burrowing her face dejectedly, 'After all this time, he still does.' 

She lifted her head slowly and looked up into the dark sky, the same sky that was as dreary as her future and tears started rolling down her cheeks. 'What else do I have to do to make him even _notice_ me?' she whispered as she wiped her tears away. Asha wrapped her arms tighter and laid her head on her bent knee.

'Why? Ugh, why did I have to fall for him? I know how to read the signs, and his had obviously screamed off limits in flashing neon lights for lack of better words but noo I just had to put my poor heart on the line for him.'

Her fair hair fluttered softly as the breeze whispered around her and she blinked slowly, their latest conversation played again in her mind. 

'Why is he so interested in Manticore?' she thought to herself, staring ahead with unseeing eyes, 'What is it that he's not telling me? What with all the secrecy and stuff? Is he actually hiding something from me?' Again she sighed, too many questions and not enough answers.

Her life was surprisingly predictable that way.

'Maybe I just have to find it on my own. I'll just have to start digging.' She dried her tears and stood shakily, looking around her dreary surroundings before she bent and retrieved her bag. A second later, she walked slowly into the night.

But now, her steps were aided by determination. She had something to pursue now.

*****

Logan whistled softly to himself while his busy fingers flew over his keyboard. 'Oh, the downfall of Manticore, we have been waiting for that, right Max?' he grinned, the excited smile was lighting his face up, 'and after that you'll be back at my side. At long last.'

His smile widened when he started to get his equipments ready, assembling them for _the_ broadcast. The same broadcast that would shake the world, stripping every veil of secrecy so all was bared. And hopefully, in the process of the history making event, he would also gain something else. Something that was so much better than the satisfying feeling that he had aided the world to be a better place, something in the line of a beautiful girl with her haunting dark eyes. The same eyes that would undoubtedly light up as she looked into his, brimming with gratitude and love. 

And that smile didn't waver as he turned and faced the camera.

*****

'Come on, move!' Max mumbled from the corner of her mouth as they ran, plowing over thick undergrowth and small bushes with their sturdy boots. Her hand tightened its grip on his arm when he stumbled, groaning while he clutched on his bleeding wound.

'Careful!' she snapped but her eyes darted worriedly towards him. 'Come on, just a little bit more.'

She turned her head and squinted while she tried desperately to find their pursuers. 'I think we've lost them,' she said after sweeping the forest and coming out empty.

'Seems that way,' he nodded, eyes a little glazed as his hand gripped at the slowly dripping piece of cloth. His breath was coming in short painful gasps and his pale face looked so drawn in the dark. He clenched his teeth when his vision wavered and cold sweat started sliding down his jaw.

'Look,' he said suddenly, pointing at something in the distance, at the same time trying hard to stay on his feet, 'I think it's a cave.' He took a deep breath and tried to push the unbearable pain to the back of his head.

Max slowed down to look, her forehead crinkling as she zoomed in. 

'Yeah. Think you can make it.. sir?' she strived to hide her worry behind a mask of nonchalance. 

'Don't worry your pretty little head over that suga,' he assured with his trademark smirk, 'as you said yourself, I'm not Manticore's finest for nothing.'

_Dammit__! Is he going to drag that one up every time he opens his mouth now? _She bristled inwardly but she moved her arm to his waist, supporting him as they trudged quickly over the ground. The tips of her fingers tingled as they moved over the expanse of his hard back. She ignored the electrifying sensations and started to move faster.

'Emm.. if it slipped your mind, I'm a little wounded here? Running at breakneck speed is not something very good, am I right?' he asked, wincing as she continued to drag him along for that little race she had going.

Max turned her head, saw his whitened face and she slowed down hurriedly, 'Sorry,' she mumbled darting her eyes quickly all over the place, preoccupied and on edge. 

'Hurry! Just a little bit more.'

They moved as fast as they could and when they stood at the door of the cave, Max heaved a huge breath of relief. But she did glance backwards and after she had been satisfied that they were indeed alone, she pulled him in. 'Come on, I have to dig out that bullet before you bleed to death or something.'

'You make me feel so much better now, you know something 452, you have such a way with words,' he said before plopping to the ground, cringing as he moved way too quickly for his body's liking. His breath came out in a painful hiss and he closed his eyes, leaning his head against the rocky wall while he prayed for the dizziness to subside.

'Let's see it,' she said simply, putting down her bag besides him.

He lifted his arms awkwardly and he tried to open the buttons of his blood soaked shirt. 

Max saw his stilted movements and frowned. 'Here, let me,' she remarked and quickly she freed the buttons from their holes, exposing the bleeding wound to the crisp night air. Silently she winced when she saw the bloody hole in his chest and she lifted her eyes towards his. 

'I'm sorry.. This is all my fault,' she whispered before tearing her gaze away, 'I didn't know why I was so distracted.'

_Hah! Of course you know! You were itching to escape and you didn't even notice there was a damn bullet speeding towards you._

'I didn't say that it was your fault 452,' came the surprising answer, 'you're in my unit which means you're _my _responsibility.'

Shame sank its sharp fangs into her and she lowered her gaze to the ground, fiddling with the tweezers in her hand. _He was not as irresponsible as she had thought. So, what did that tell her about her so called judgment?_ She had to shake the depressing thoughts away and tried to focus on her impending task. Taking a huge breath, she turned to his wound.

'Don't tell me you're afraid of a little blood?' he asked, a smile was hovering over his lips, the glazed look in his eyes suddenly replaced by the usual cheek.

Despite the recent turn of events, she had to bite the insides of her cheek to stop the instant retort that sprang to her lips. 'No sir, I have my fair share of practice in the field med department,' she muttered as she turned and grabbed a small scalpel. She pulled out a lighter and started to sterilize the scalpel and tweezers. Then, she turned her attention back to the wound in his torso and suddenly she realized the way he was breathing.

Shallow and fast.

Max gritted her teeth worriedly and started hoping that his lung hadn't started to collapse. Eyes narrowed, she lifted one hand and brought a finger to his injury before running it slowly over the edge of the gash as she tried to assess the extent of his wound. The muscles in his chest jumped and she saw the way he tried to hide his flinch.

Startled, she gave him one worried glance before she turned and picked up the sterilized tools. She inched closer, looked him in the eye and asked, 'Ready?'

'I'm always ready my sweet,' he replied with a small smile.

Much to her bewilderment and embarrassment, heat flooded her face, turning her cheeks into crimson patches. 'I think it's quite.. inappropriate for you to call me that.. sir,' she said before bringing the scalpel to his flesh. 

Noticing her flushed cheeks, he chuckled, low and deep.

Max tried to ignore how his laughter had seemed to caress her and pressed the scalpel lightly against the edge of his bullet wound. Instantly, blood spurted out. Quickly, Max grabbed some cotton balls and pressed them against the blood and she saw how his muscles twitched as she enlarged the hole. 

'He needs a distraction,' she thought to herself.

'Have you always been in this facility?' she asked the first question that popped into her head.

Half turning his head, he trained his glazed eyes on her. 'What?' he asked hoarsely, clenching his jaw as she probed deeper. 

'How long have you been living in this facility? Have you always lived here?'

'No,' he answered simply as he leaned his head against the cave's wall, hand clasped tightly in a ball off fists. 

'Go on,' she encouraged after he lapsed into silence and she lifted her head from trying to locate the buried bullet to look into his shut face.

'We were moved in '09,' he replied, cold sweat was running freely from his brow by now, 'and again 4 years later. The last move was a year ago, after your brother went berserk on the humanity, I presumed.'

'He's more your twin than he was my brother,' she said lightly as she tried to revert her eyes from the hard muscular chest bared to her heated eyes.

He remained silent as his memory took an unexpected detour to his past. Max looked up, saw his starry eyed gaze and she took the opportunity. She moved the tweezers deeper and caught the bullet securely before she pulled her hand back. 

'Damn!' he yelped, panting hard as she lifted the bullet up for inspection.

Max just laughed at his reaction. 'Oh, don't be such a crybaby Alec.'

Glaring, he replied, 'You go and get shot, then _I'll_ dig out that dammed bullet. Let's see if you enjoy the experience.'

'Think I'll pass but I'll keep that in mind,' and for once in a very long time, she felt like smiling and she went along with the urge and smile, 'and now I have to cauterize it.' She grabbed the lighter again and started heating a knife she had pulled out earlier.

Together, they watched as the red-hot flame danced on the metal.

'Ready?' she asked somberly as the fire continued to lick the surface of the glinting knife.

He nodded as his gaze strayed towards the hot piece of metal.

'Okay, on the count of three,' she said, looking straight into his hazel eyes, 'One.' And quickly, she touched the knife to his flesh, listening as the raw wound hissed. 

His chest muscles jumped as he tried to contain the pain, his jaw muscles worked furiously but he looked dead ahead, his jaw locked in the tremendous effort to keep the pain in.

'All done,' she said, trying to stay detached as she tidied everything up.

'Thank you.'

She turned towards him, surprised and he just smiled tiredly, 'Wouldn't that be what the people outside would say on occasions such as this? After one of them saved the other's life?' he asked with a mock frown at her bewildered look.

'Yes, it is. But somehow coming from you.. I don't know.. sounds weird, I guess.'

'How weird is a simple thank you?' this time the frown was real, 'and you still haven't answered my question.'

'What question?' Max asked as she rankled her brain. _Did he actually ask her something? Among his efforts to rile her up, he actually asked her a question?_

'That Alec thingy. Why did you keep calling me that?'

'Oh.. that,' she tried to hide her wince, _damn transgenic and their photographic memory. Maybe if I shock him with the simple truth he'll get off my case. Well, let's find out then, _'I was feeling somewhat rebellious and since Manticore had given you that designation, I want to change it to something less.. Manticore.'

'So, why Alec?' he asked curiously as he blatantly ignored her confession about the rebellious bit.

Max blinked when he didn't even miss a step at her surprising announcement. But she managed to pull herself together before adding, 'Alec.. as in smart-aleck.'

'Alec..' he smiled thoughtfully while he mulled it over, 'I can live with that.'

'Good, coz my second choice was Dick.'

He burst out laughing at her righteous _expression. 'Now tell me, my sweet,' he said with a cheeky wink, 'What is _your_ name then?'

Stunned and very much out of her elements now, she looked up and stared dully into his waiting face. Inwardly, she almost cried as the lingering remains of what had always been taken for granted question swirled warmly around her. No one had asked her that question in months, ever since she had been hauled off here, and that simple gesture touched her deeply.

'Max,' she whispered, 'My name is Max.' 

'Max..' he said softly, rolling the name of his tongue, 'I like it. Suits you perfectly.'

That sincere remark startled a smile out of her and her lips quivered hesitatingly as she turned to look at him.

'But Alec sounds a whole lot better than Max,' he added and his eyes glinted mischievously, 'must be something about the bearer of the name then.'

She gaped as myriads of emotions chased each other. Amusement, anger, laughter, the sudden urge to wring his neck, the desire to wrap her fingers around the same area or the craving to slap him silly. Since she couldn't actually do any of the former, however much they tempted her, she settled on the latter. 

'I highly doubt that,' she retorted and her hand slapped him sharply on the shoulder.

'Auch,' he groaned, holding onto his still raw wound, 'I didn't know you couldn't take a joke.'

'Who says I can't?' she shrugged, feeling a little light hearted, 'I just feel like slapping someone. And since you're here..'

'Ahh,' he nodded knowingly, 'I know how hard it is for you to keep your hands off of me. Don't be afraid to keep doing that my dear, I don't mind one bit,' 494 or rather Alec answered with an innocent grin.

'Hmph! As if,' she muttered as she shoved everything back into her bag, 'Keep on dreaming Alec, I'm sure you need the daily supplement to brighten your day. Oh, and one more thing,' she snapped her head back when something crossed her mind, 'I am _not_ moany.'

'Sure you are,' came the instant reply, 'you think I haven't noticed the way you've been moping around the last couple of days?'

'Well.. I was thinking..'

'With a ferocious frown on your face,' he deadpanned.

'It wasn't a very pleasant subject.'

'I'm sure it was not and that brings to the next question. Why? Why do you keep torturing yourself with something like that?'

Struck speechless at the direct question, Max stared silently for a few more seconds before her eyes darted downwards. She ran a finger over the dirt, tracing an abstract design as unconsciously her lower lip quivered. Her hair fell like a silk black curtain, hiding her face from view but he had seen the sudden desolation that flitted over her dark eyes. 

His heart swelled and somehow he could sense her pain. Something bad must've happened. 

'Hey,' he said as he lifted her chin with gentle fingers, 'are you gonna start acting girly on me now?'

Max tried to pull away, horrified as she could feel the tears that had started prickling at the corner of her eyes but he just tightened his grip, 'No running away this time Maxie.'

Max's head snapped upwards at the familiar nickname. 'How did..?' Her eyes started gleaming with unshed tears as memories of her lost siblings resurfaced, stabbing her mercilessly with its blunt edges.

Jack.

Eva.

Tinga.

Brin.

Zack.

And.. Ben. 

The brother she had killed with her own bare hands.

Alec saw the sparkling moisture and his insides moved uncomfortably. The feeling grew as he spied the tears that were glistening at the end of her long lashes and suddenly he felt compelled to wipe them dry. The hand that was on her chin moved lightly to frame her cheek before he ran his thumb slowly to remove the tears away. His heart throbbed painfully after his fingers felt her soft satiny skin. 

The feelings he had when ever she was around rushed back and he almost staggered by its overwhelming power. If he wasn't sitting down, he would've collapse under its enormous pressure. His gaze dropped lower and the sight of those rosy lips tugged at his heartstrings and unconsciously he dipped his head lower. 

Despite her misery, Max was struck speechless as she saw that his eyes were glistening with something she didn't recognize. But the gleam had the effect of sending her heartbeat through the roof and unknowingly she leaned into his slowly stroking hand. The same hand that had been giving her glimpses of heaven and he had done nothing except running his thumb softly over her skin. 

Alec swallowed hard as her eyes fluttered close and he could almost feel the way she was rubbing her cheek lightly against his hand and he tipped his head a little lower. They were so close now and Max could feel the comforting warmth of his breath as he moved with torturous slowness towards her. Her lips parted in anticipation and a soft sigh passed over her lips.

He swallowed a groan and quickly closed the gap between them. Instantly, a sudden bolt of energy surged through their bodies as their lips touched one another's. Alec shuddered before he deepened the kiss, moving his lips sensually over hers. Max moaned low in her throat as his lips fitted perfectly over hers. She angled her head a little, giving him better access and he growled as he continued to nibble on her lower lip.

She sighed, lifted her arms and interlocked them around his neck before running her fingers slowly through his soft hair as his mouth continued to plunder hers. Max pressed herself closer to him and one of his hand started to move enticingly over her ribs. She pulled the hand that was caressing his barcode before running it slowly over his broad chest and she almost purred as she could feel the restrained strength that was hidden underneath walls of hard muscles under her wandering hand. 

Alec tightened his hold on her as he felt the fire that was spreading like bushfire from her fingertips. His hand slide from her shoulder to her neck and he fisted his fingers among her dark silken locks as he continued to kiss her with a desperate need.

Max was hovering on thin air as waves of desire persistently swept her off her feet. She sighed as their tongues continued to battle with each other and at that moment a spark of bright light burst suddenly in her dazed and muddled mind. Her eyes burst open and the hand that was touching his hard body only moments ago pushed him away from her. 

'What do you think you're doing?' she asked, still panting and trying to ignore the loss of his snug body. 

'Kissing you,' he answered, eyeing her warily, 'Isn't that what we were doing?' His voice was still infused with passion and desire. The passion and desire that was somehow denied by this unpredictable beauty in front of him. 

Max was very much torn apart as she tried to find for something to say, 'I.. emm.. we should get moving.'

Then without waiting for his answers, she grabbed her bag and fled from the cave.

Her bewildered and furious CO just watched as she took flight before he got up with some difficulty and followed her, a heavy frown on his smooth brow and fury leaping ferociously in his eyes. 

_To be continued.._


	9. chapter 9

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: Max and the others failed in their mission to blow up the DNA lab and in the process she was recaptured. After months of being submitted to the torturous Psy-ops she was sent to a new unit and her CO was this drop dead gorgeous - *methinks!* X5494. The unit was then sent on their first mission, a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story started to enfold.. 

*****

hmm, I know I said I won't be posting in a while but this is the result of a sleep deprived night. I wrote this till it was four so just ignore it if you stumble on any inconsistency. lol Maia has tried her hardest to make it better and for that I owe her a huuge hug and thanks :) and another one to panda and angel who convinced me to post it now, rather than another couple of days like I originally had in mind. Oh, to Jewel and Scarlet, sorry sweets, no smut yet, but I hope this suffice :P

*****

Chapter 9.

Outside, the wind continued to moan and wail, whispering soft, slow words that sent chills scrambling clumsily up and down the recipient's spine. And at that moment, one of the recipients was curled up in a dejected ball as the wind continued with its impromptu concert. The figure of a small dark skinned girl trembled slightly and she brought up her legs tighter against her chest, wrapping her arms securely against her long shapely legs. Her dark eyes glinted dully in the dark confines of her small room and she sighed before burrowing her face deeper into her sweat soaked sheets.

Her shivers intensified after her blurry dream started to come into focus, bit by horrifying bit. 

Original Cindy had had a dream about her best friend, her boo.. Max.

And in that dream, she had seen how Max had fared on the night of her capture. And even though she had not been there at the time, her undoubtedly overworked imagination had not spared her anything as it presented her with the worst possible scenario. 

Max, shot and bleeding.

Bleeding profusely from her multiple wounds. 

Blood gushing out from her beaten body in fountains of crimson rivers. 

Sliding down her skin, her smooth tan skin, in thick sticky rows.

Those horrendous images were still clinging to her muddled mind as she streaked upwards, pushed into the world of a living, away from her troubled sleep. Original Cindy panted, breathing hard as sweat streamed from her brow, drenching her body while she struggled to clear her mind.

'Oh god,' she groaned, running her hands over her sweaty face, 'I can't take any of this anymore. Uncertainty and Original Cindy do not mix.'

Slowly, she put her head back on her damp pillow, ignoring the wet fabric and unconsciously she curled as if trying to ward the demons away by her protective position. She bit her lips and the remains of her nightmare started to come knocking.

'I have to know what happened to her,' the dark haired beauty continued to mull, still curled over in that fetal position, 'and there's only one person who can help Original Cindy with that.' 

Bit by bit she straightened her body and gradually she sat on her crumpled bed, eyes a little dazed as she continued to contemplate her recent nightmare. She lifted a weary arm and pushed her heavy hair off her face, her brain started working on a possible answer to her nagging crisis. 

Logan.

He must know something about Max. OC knew he had been doing something in his quest for her and after all this time, he must have some sort of info. Something to put her turbulent mind at rest.

A second later she stiffened in shock as a cold eerie feeling crawled over her skin. 

'Damn!' she whispered in shock, 'someone just walked over my grave or something. Something must've happened to Max, if she is still alive, bless her soul. And that only means one thing, it's time to go and see Log-boy.'

She sighed and swung her legs off her rumpled bed, eyes starting to search for her discarded clothing. 

Quickly she threw something on and left her room. 

_Half an hour later._

Logan was watching the screen with an expectant look on his face, waiting for the momentous time when he could begin broadcasting. He hummed a slow little tune as he waited for the computer to finish loading. He took one deep breath and readied himself. Then, the one thing he never expected to happen happened.

His door bell rang.

Cursing slightly under his breath, his gaze flipped to his monitor and towards the door. If he ignored the insistent ringing, the caller might just go away and he'd be left alone to accomplished his mission. He waited for a second, willing for the unwanted visitor to leave him alone. Moments later, he smiled as the ringing had stopped and he turned his focus back to the screen. 

And behind him, the door crashed opened.

'What the..' he turned with a heavy frown on his face.

His jaw dropped opened as Original Cindy marched in.

'Didn't you hear the door bell screeching your ears off?' she demanded.

'What are you doing here? I'm in a middle of something right now if you don't mind!' he hissed, leaping to his feet in order to shut the camera off.

'Another Eyes-Only mission?' she asked flatly, glancing at the way he was trying to hide everything with his back, 'Anyway, I want to know what you have on my boo.'

'And you have to barge into my home at this ungodly hour to ask that?' Logan trembled in his fury, 'Do you have any idea what you have done? What you have cost me?'

'No, I don't if you want Original Cindy to be honest. The world can use a day rest from your tender loving care, I'm sure. I just want to know where Max is. And if you just answered the door like the civilized person that you always say you are, I wouldn't have had to interrupt your daily _routine,' she made a quoting gesture to accompany her last word, 'So, as far as Original Cindy can see, it's your fault Logan,' she answered without blinking._

'Ohh, so now it's my fault,' Logan glared angrily, 'may I remind you that this is _my_ home. And I can do anything I want here, and that also includes not answering the door whenever I feel like it. Does privacy mean anything to you OC?'

'Hey! Why are you blowing off your top like this? I just want to ask whether you have any news on Max. I know you've been working on it, that's all. What's with the boiling kettle impersonation you have going?' she raised one immaculate eyebrow.

'I _was_ working on it when you decided to crash into my home,' in his anger, he slapped his hand hard against his working table. The same table that was holding his computers and cameras.

OC took one step backwards as the appliances jumped a few inches into the air and landed haphazardly on the messy table. Both of them watched with wide horrified eyes as his CPU staggered violently before falling onto the hard floor. Logan made a frantic dash to save his precious equipment but was mere seconds late. The tips of his fingers managed to touch the cool plastic before it smashed onto the floor. He was still for a few seconds as he stared with unbelieving eyes at the pieces of his hope and dreams, lying scattered on the cold hard floor. 

'Come on, I'll help clean this up,' OC said suddenly, breaking the tense silence, 'but I have to warn you, don't you blame me for that.'

***

Alec stopped for a few moments after he reached the mouth of the cave. His hand wandered to his bandaged wound while he took a few deep breaths to stop the swimming visions, his other hand clutching at the wall of the cave in a tight clench for support. Eyes tightly shut, he breathed slowly and deeply as a single drop of sweat slid steadily down his cheek. He growled in desperation after his legs started getting somewhat rubbery and he had the feeling that he would collapse at any second and there was not much he could do about it. 

The hand tightened its hold on the wall of the cave as his vision took an eerie brownish yellowy color, the images were contorted into strange shapes. He shook his head once, but the dizziness continued its persistent pull on his consciousness. An icy cold feeling started to wrap itself around him and his body started to shake. He gritted his teeth in despair while he continued the fight to hold onto his gradually slipping consciousness. 

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply from his mouth, hoping the added air might be of some help. Slowly the dizziness dispersed, like mist in the hot sun. Alec straightened, ignored the slight headache and tried to locate the infuriating member of his unit. Quickly, he scanned the immediate surroundings, looking for one hot tempered brunette. 

His hazel eyes snapped to one specific location after he heard the tell tale snap of a broken branch. Without waiting another second, Alec blurred across the area, unwilling to let her walk off that easily.

She had some explaining to do.

'Where do you think you're going?' he asked grimly, holding her hand in a tight grip.

'Back to base, where else do you think I would go?' she snapped, her confusion intensified, aided by his sudden arrival and she reacted by lashing out to the one she held responsible. 

'Run, that's what you're good at. When it gets to tough for you to handle, you run. Back then and even now, aren't you a little tired of the repeated response?' asked Alec with a hint of sarcasm.

'Get off my back,' she hissed, flinging his hand away, 'you have no idea what we had gone through. What it feels like to see one of your own being pried open,' her thoughts went to Jack, 'shot,' they went to Eva before slamming into her hellish childhood, 'and goddamn tortured. So just shut up will you?'

Instantly, the greenish eyes darkened and he took a step towards her. 'Is that what you think?' he asked lightly, but the undertones were humming with fury, soft silky satin over cold hard steel, 'Is that what you really think?'

Max saw the barely hidden flames that were leaping in his suddenly animated eyes and repressed a shudder as he continued to close the gap between them. Her tongue darted out, nervously wetting her sudden dry lips while she took another cautious step backwards. This was not the easy-go-lucky Commanding Officer that she had gotten used to. The same CO who always looked at her with a cheeky glint in his eyes.

At the moment, his eyes were glinting all right, but the green pairs were gleaming with a very foreign light. Max took one look at his eyes and her heart picked up speed in an instant. Blood roared clumsily to her head while she took a hesitant step back, wary and on edge as he continued to take the steps towards her. 

So intent on his hypnotizing eyes, she swallowed a frantic moan when her back bumped unceremoniously against the hard and rough surface of a tree trunk. _Damn, I'm cornered!_

Her agitated thoughts multiplied by a hundredfold as he lifted his arms and placed them just inches away from her head, successfully trapping her in that position.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds and just watched as she openly started to squirm. 

'Where do you think you're going, soldier?' he asked softly and Max almost jumped.

Max saw the way the muscles in his jaw were twitching, in addition to his fiery eyes and her legs almost gave way under her while her heart started battering painfully against her ribcage. But underneath all that confusion, a small ball of fire started to spread, the fire of anticipation. ****

She saw the dangerous look in his eyes and she knew without any doubt what he had in mind. And honestly, she couldn't keep lying to herself about how much that dark brooding look excited her. Again, the tip of her tongue appeared as she nervously wet her parched lips. 

Alec noticed the quick movement of her pink tongue and blood rushed rapidly through his body. His breathing was fast and in the heat of the moment, he completely forgot his recent painful experience. He lowered his head and noticed with interest her sharp intake of breath and he just grinned before he whispered into her ears, 'Do you always have such low opinion of your superiors?'

Even with the obvious attraction, she managed to snarl, 'Go to hell Alec.'

'I don't doubt that, but before I make that trip I want to see if I can make a stop in heaven first,' he whispered enticingly, his warm breath tickling her sensitive ears.

Max was not given any opportunity to answer. When she opened her lips to hurl heated and snazzy replies, a pair of firm and full lips crashed onto hers. 

Despite her anger, she could sense how her body reacted to his onslaught and that infuriated her even more. She struggled feebly, still pinned to the big tall tree as his skillful tongue entered the warm crevice of her mouth and started its exploration. Her frantic moan sounded deep from her throat as she tried to push the hard wall of chest away. 

But Alec's hand had framed her face to keep her in place as his tongue pried her lips wider, battling with hers for dominance. His hard body was pressed tightly over her softer form and Max had to force herself not to melt at his feet as he continued to send her to paradise and shoving her to hell in a span of mere seconds. 

His hand moved lower to her graceful neck, slowly stroking the soft skin where he could feel the frantic rush of her pulse while his lips traced the full lines of hers, noting at the back of his desire-drugged mind how perfectly her body suited him. Even when he could feel the reluctance on her part, that didn't deter him and he just pressed himself tighter against her as he angled his head a little so that her lips were fully covered by his own. The other hand that was fisted in her silken locks trailed downwards, slowly skimming her slim shoulder and tiny waist before he rested his hand on the small of her back, pulling her into his heated body. 

Max had tried desperately to keep her head, to stay detached as his lips and body had done their damnest to shove her from her precarious position on the cliff of sanity. But with each passing second, the battle became increasingly harder and she couldn't keep ignoring the flames of desire that had started to uncoil in the pit of her stomach. The hand that was fisted in haughty rebellion on his chest flattened slowly as the continuous effort to seduce her started to wear her resistance down.

Right now, she could barely remember her own name while his tongue continued to do wicked things to her. With a moan of surrender, she ran her trembling hands over the expanse of his broad chest. 

Alec could tell the exact moment she changed her mind, the softening of her stiff body and the pliant curve of her lips had been a dead give away. He growled, well satisfied that he had managed to make his statement but at that moment, none of that was of any importance. At that moment, he was more interested in satisfying the passion that was burning brightly in his body. He crushed her tightly against his hardened body, wrapping his arms firmly around her delightful body before tearing his lips away from her waiting mouth.

She moaned at the lost but he pushed her shirt aside, exposing the curve of her shoulder and he nuzzled the warm bit of skin. She fisted her hand tightly in his soft hair as he suckled at her pulse point. Lost in a sea of emotions, Max ran a shaking hand over his shoulders and back, begging him silently to keep what he was doing. 

Alec lifted his head and Max's hand that was still fisted in his hair pulled him closer. He allowed himself a few more moments as their tongues met and started to mate. His hand started roving, slowly cruising over her soft curves and tantalizing flesh. 

Unconsciously committing the feel of her into his memory before he took the next drastic step.

Without warning, he disentangled himself away from her and took a step back.

Max groaned in frustration and reached out for him blindly, trying to continue what they had been doing. Her slightly glazed eyes widened after she realized that he had distanced himself on purpose.

'What the..' she managed to whisper out as she tried to catch her breath.

'How does that feel Max?' he asked simply, but she realized with horror that the hard edges in his eyes were still there. 'Why didn't you have that urge to run away again this time?'

'How dare you?' she snarled, shooting ire filled glares his way while her heart continued beating furiously and her body yearned for the feel of his.

'Funny, when _you_ dumped me a few minutes ago, that wasn't such a big deal. What's the problem Maxie, hate the taste of your own medicine? I was only showing you how _I felt back then, not very good is it?'_

'Shut up Alec,' she mumbled, as crimson stains started to spread across her face. Despite the blunt truth, she still found it was very easy to blame him for everything, to shove all her negative emotions on him. 

But somehow he ignored her and said briskly, the efficient officer taking the place of the smoldering lover, 'Start moving soldier. We need to get to base ASAP,' seemingly untouched by their recent activities.

Max's jaw nearly dropped when he turned his back on her and strode off, leaving her alone with her confusing thoughts. She gritted her teeth in anger after the humiliation sank in and she started walking, trying desperately to sort out her muddled thoughts.

_He was wrong of course, no doubt about that but what about her? How could he put some of the blame on her as well? Damn, how could he just flip her world like this? He just strolled into her life and managed to turn her somewhat ordered life around. _

Before his arrival into her messed up life, the life she had known was difficult, that was for sure, but it had a nice dose of predictability to it. Play along with what the blonde Director had in mind, and she'd be left alone but now.. That cocky and infuriating man had wanted her to participate in his little game and she for one had absolutely no idea about the rules. Or if it had rules in the first place. She swallowed a groan as she ran her fingers over her still heated face. _Damn him._

Max continued to moan about her pitiful life, glaring at his stiff back once in a while as she continued to follow in his steps. Couild her life be more messed up than it already was? Of course it could, she thought angrily, if that man in front of her had anything to do with it. All she ever wanted in life was a.. life. A chance to be a normal girl, with normal problems. 

The biggest worry she would have to deal with was something typical of a teenage girl, like clothes.. or boys. But not her, poor old her had to worry about whether the mission would be successful or if a mark had been eliminated without compromising the mission. Or whether her CO would prove to be the death of her.

_I guess I'm never gonna get out of this dump, she thought sadly to herself,__ I'm stuck, dammit! _

She stopped in her tracks after the last thought made its impact. _My plan!! How could I forget about the escape in the first place?! This is all his fault!_ she grinded her teeth in anger as in front of her eyes, the facility loomed nearer. _That dammed Alec distracts me! God, I can't even begin to imagine how much I hate that guy at this moment,_ she fumed, at the same time, trying very hard to push the image of the two of them, kissing as if their life depended on it. 

Her temper boiled dangerously close to the edge as the tall fences came into view. 

I. Cant. Freakin'. Believe. This.   

The scowl had become her constant companion as she ran a wild gaze around; and in her preoccupation, she completely missed the arrival of the sun, marking another day while she bemoaned on her screwed up life; _maybe this was not as hopeless as I thought. Maybe I still have a shot at this._

Riiight, more like a chance a snow ball wouldn't melt after being tossed in hell.

Damn, damn, DAMN.

She glowered at the guards that were situated around the perimeter, cursing them into oblivion while she walked behind him into the facility.

_Welcome back to hell, Maxie._

So intent with her 'happy' thoughts, she didn't realize that they had made it inside and another guard was approaching them.

'494, Director Renfro wants a debriefing at 0800,' the guard said solemnly.

Her CO nodded once, not even bothering with an answer before marching ahead, leaving her standing in that empty hallway.

Max watched his disappearing back for a few more second as a sudden burst of loneliness hit her. _I'll get out of here, even if it kills me, I'm gonna get the hell out of here. Soon._

Her dark eyes turned to twin pairs of granite and her jaw hardened at her resolve, _soon._

*****

Original Cindy exited the Foggle Tower, as unenlightened as the moment she had arrived an hour or so ago. Muttering angrily under her breath, she tugged the collar of her jacket closer around her throat in a few jerky movements, the irritation clearly shown in her action. 

After that 'little' accident, Logan had pushed her to the door, saying he had known no new facts about Max's whereabouts or even if she was still alive. He had made some hasty promises that he'd keep in touch if he had any new news before slamming the door in her face. Before the door was closed, OC managed to catch his angry mumbles about his wrecked computer and something about a rescue mission gone wrong.

She stood still for a few seconds as suspicion sneaked in and refused to depart. _That Logan was up to something,_ she thought shrewdly, _and Original Cindy is gonna make sure she knows every single detail soon. He can't be trusted to be on his own when he's in one of these weird moods._

Back straight, she walked down the steps that lead to the deserted road but something stopped her for a second. She sighed and spent the next few minutes staring into the colour stained horizon as the sun made its daily appearance. After her silent vigil, she started walking, but now with a small smile on her face.

Those few minutes had given her some ideas and she was going to start acting on them soon. 

_To be continued.._


	10. chapter 10

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: Max and the others failed in their mission to blow up the DNA lab and in the process she was recaptured. After months of being submitted to the torturous Psy-ops she was sent to a new unit and her CO was this drop dead gorgeous - *methinks!* X5494. The unit was then sent on their first mission, a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story started to enfold.. 

***

A/N- Hi! Actually I was having some difficulty while writing this chapter. what you may ask? Then the answer would be plain laziness lol Yup, I was being lazy :P And also the fact that I just had a minor surgery done to my hand a couple of days ago so for the last few days I've had some problems in typing. Last night while in chat, Maia started asking, very very nicely (because my dear Maia is a sweetheart) about the next chapter. So, with that sudden burst of inspiration ;) I started working today and surprise, surprise, I finished a chapter in less than a day.

For those who doubted that miracles do happen, start believing in them. Yes, now would be a good time to do so. If I can do this, then so can you.  

Again, Maia helped me in making this a better chapter, so hon, I love you lots :D  

***

Chapter ten.

Fury.

Anger.

The twin emotions were cruising through his veins, together and intertwined as one. The dual feelings were wrapped around each other, pushing the remaining one to the surface of his boiling temper. He shuddered as both of them came too close to the shell of the sensations he had been feeling. 

Something he had never permitted to happen. 

Not once in his entire lifetime.

The jaw hardened when he recalled what had taken place mere hours ago. He still couldn't believe she had taken off like that. But on the other hand, why shouldn't he expect something like that from her? She listed running away as her number one solution for practically every trouble that came her way.

Too demanding a childhood?, runs off into the night.

Even if it was freezing like hell outside.

Too unsure of herself when a guy kisses her?, runs off before you can talk it through.

_And I still can't believe she did that! Goddammit! What was she thinking?_

Who knows what had been going through that complicated mind of hers. He grounded his teeth in frustration, that fiery girl was more skittish than a newborn foal. 

What the? Now she got him thinking like a damn farmer! He growled, marching quickly ahead before wincing. He had walked too fast for his wounded body's liking. Foal? Skittish? Where did that come from?

He lifted his tensed hand and ran his stiff fingers through his hair, frowning heavily as his feet trudged automatically towards his destination. Alec sighed, whoever said that women and men came from two different planets got it down pat and perfectly.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure out that one female in particular and that irked him. 

Absolutely.

Definitely.

But why was he feeling all warm and tingly whenever he thought about the desperate way they had clung to each other when they were kissing?

_How do I answer that? he thought with a frown. _Hey! Why should I have to answer it in the first place?_ It wasn't like he was a contestant in some game show._

_God, he ran his hand over his face, __I've started to ramble._

_That's what I've been reduced to. I'm a romantic, rambling freak now._

He stopped still, closing his eyes in a desperate attempt to calm his temper. Slowly, he took a number of deep breaths, filling his thirsty lungs with fresh air. 

_Okay, I'm fine now, he said to himself, nodding slightly._

'Hey 494, got a second?'

'What do you think I am? The information counter?' he snapped instantly without really seeing who it was.

'Whoa, easy does it!' 511 took an unconscious step behind, looking warily at his CO.

Alec groaned, pushing the heel of his hand to his eyes, 'Sorry about that ol' buddy. I don't know what come over me.'

His SIC raised a dark brow, 'I suggest you refrain from using that particular phrase in this base. You know how they don't particularly like it if we're all on buddy-like terms.'

'Again, slip of tongue,' he answered simply, looking around with wary eyes, 'I've got too much on my mind right now.'

'What's up? I've never seen you this.. confused before,' 511 asked quietly, falling in step beside him. 'It's not about the mission right? As far as I know, it was a complete success.'

'No, no, it's not about the mission,' he answered under his breath, 'and no, I don't want to talk about it, so quit asking.'

'452?' the other man asked with a knowing gleam in his eyes.

'Dammit, what are you? Psy-ops?' he asked with a barely hidden glare. 'Am I that obvious? And for you information, no, this is not about 452,' he lied blatantly, looking at 511 straight in the eye.

'Yeah right, _buddy,' the dark haired man grinned, 'cause what you just said wasn't contradictory at all. Come on, spill.' _

'I have no idea what you're talking about,' Alec mumbled, walking briskly away from his smirking friend.

'Right,' 511 continued to smile with amusement, 'and I'm the King of England.'

***

_That.. that.. that good for nothing.. Alec! she__ huffed angrily, marching back into her cell. _I've definitely picked up the most appropriate name for that guy. How could he do that to me? How could he even _think_ of doing that to me?__

She flopped onto her waiting bed before scooting towards the cold brick wall, wrapping her arms around her raised knees. Max perched her chin on her knees, her face was plastered with a heavy sulk when suddenly her earlier memories started to appear.

She shivered, recalling the way she had melted into his embrace, the way she had grabbed hold of him with no thought of letting go. The way their lips had met and fused together.

The exciting way his skillful hands had roamed all over her body, stroking the embers of desire in her into a full blown fire.

The way his hard body had felt under her sensitive fingers.

_That's it! Stop doing this to yourself!_

Max groaned and buried her face in her shaking hands.

_What the hell is happening to me? _

Slowly, she leaned her head against the wall, looking with unseeing eyes at the still dark ceiling.

Could she keep blaming everything on him? Would that be the right thing to do? 

No, of course not, she sighed, but it sure would be the easiest thing to do. Max straightened her legs, sliding them slowly over the harsh blanket.

_'Run, that's what you're good at. When it gets to tough for you to handle, you run. Back then and even now, aren't you a little tired of the repeated response?' _

Max gritted her teeth, _how dare he said that to me?_

Of all the subjects to use, he had chosen that particular one. Did he have to rub it in her face like that?

She almost jumped when a male voice sounded, 'Ready for breakfast 452.'

'I'm coming,' she mumbled, getting up from her bed. She ran one hand through her hair before tossing the ends over one shoulder. Her slim shoulders stiffened when the door was opened and she walked out of her cell, still as confused as she had been when she marched in, but now no one would be able to guess it. She had hidden her tumultuous thoughts successfully away from prying eyes.  

'Hey, glad to see you made it!'

Max turned at the sound of the cheery voice and unconsciously a smile hovered over her sullen face. 'I feel so flattered you have so much faith in me,' she replied, a small grin on her lips.

'I know, I know,' 751 nodded, a cheeky gleam in her light eyes, 'I would feel horrible if you failed to haul your ass back in here, after I sent you off into the wild, horrible world out there.'

Despite everything Max choked off a burst of laughter, _if only she knew what her plan was._

She turned and sneaked a glance at the girl who was walking beside her, noting the happy expression on her face, 'Can I ask you something?'

'Yeah sure,' 751 said immediately, 'but if it is about who do I think is the best looking guy here, I don't have an answer to that.'

This time Max laughed, but she suppressed the display of emotion instantly. 'Really? But I thought you would have an answer, seeing how much time you've spend pondering on that subject.'

'Well, if you really want to know, let me see first,' 751 bit her lower lips, her face were crinkled as she thought it over. '634 is not that bad looking,' Max grinned as she recalled the tall blonde guy, 'and oh, add 494 too. He's just too damn yummy for his own good,' 751's light gray eyes gleamed brightly and she missed the scowl that appeared on the girl next to her.

'What about his SIC?' Max put in quickly, hoping to change the subject.

'511?' 751 shuddered slightly, 'nah, not him. He gets on my nerve. I have no idea what's wrong with that guy. It's like he always tries his hardest to make me mad or something.'

_Glad to see I'm not alone in this sort of thing, Max thought silently to herself._

'276, 871, 386, 165,' 751 sighed, 'all of them are ones that make my heart go all fluttery. And that, my friend is just the tip of the iceberg, the list is endless you know,' she finished with a big grin.

'How on earth did you stay like this?' Max asked with an amused smile, 'I thought Manticore would have wiped this all off years ago.'

'Beats me,' she shrugged, 'but let me ask you one thing, if they didn't know I have these.. flaws, they wouldn't have to put it to right, am I correct?'

'As usual,' Max nodded, shooting the girl a knowing look.

'Watch where you're going,' someone snapped in her ears and Max turned to see the speaker.

'You should listen to yourself sometimes, 620,' the red headed 751 interrupted, 'and watch where _you're going.'_

'Am I talking to you?' the tall willowy blonde girl turned her icy blue eyes and 751 narrowed hers, 'So back off Carrot Top.'

751's fair skin flushed to a deep red and Max had to grab her friend's hand, effectively preventing the fiery redhead from launching herself onto the bristling blond. 'I suggest _you back off blondie,' Max said with a calmness that completely belied the fury that was leaping in her dark eyes, 'you're sadly outnumbered here.'_

'Do you expect me to listen to a former escapee?' she said disdainfully, glancing at Max with unhidden scorn, 'Then you're sadly out of your mind.'

'Just because you never jumped the fence makes you better than the rest of the world?' 751's temper got the better of her and she hissed angrily.

'Yeah, that's one way to put it,' 620 fluffed her fair hair, looking smug.

'God, are we even _living in the same planet?' came the instant reply, 'How self absorbed can you get? But with the ass kissing you've done in your lifetime, I think that kinda evens the scale. You and the escapees aren't so different after all.'_

'What the hell are you talking about?' the haughty look left instantly, leaving the heavily veiled fear in its place.

'You heard me,' the redhead replied unresponsively, staring with unblinking eyes.

Max who had been quiet for the last few minutes decided her cue to start speaking had arrived, 'What are you waiting for? Retreat while you still can, that's what they thought us right?'

620 was silent for a few more seconds, looking at the hostile faces that were staring at her, 'You'll be seeing me around,' she said before flipping her hair and marching off.

'I don't doubt that. Ugh, I hate that girl,' 751 said furiously, glaring at the said girl's disappearing back. 'Whenever she's around, there's bound to be trouble.'

Max agreed silently, remembering their history with the cold hearted blonde. 

'Come on, I'm hungry,' 751 tugged at Max's hand, the recent outburst was pushed from her memory, forcing Max successfully back into reality.

Together, they walked into the crowded mess hall, shoving through the packed crowds. After they each got themselves a tray, they turned and strode towards the nearest empty table, sliding onto the waiting seats with a sigh.

'God, I'm starved,' 751 announced and started to dig into her meal with a gusto.

Max just shook her head in wonder before she started eating, slowly and without interest in what she was putting into her mouth. A few seconds later she stiffened when she caught sight of the nearest arrival. 

Unknowingly, she shifted a little in her seat, a desperate attempt to hide from the CO she had just jilted after kissing him like there was no tomorrow. But even in her preoccupation, she realized that he didn't seem to be bothered by her presence as she was by his. He was talking to his SIC, nodding as the latter said something before replying in a low tone.

And for some reason, that annoyed her.

Very, very much indeed.

Here she was, out of her mind thinking about what had happened, and it seemed he wasn't even bothered by it. 

Typically male, she huffed, narrowing her eyes at him.

Her neck prickled uncomfortably as he neared her table, and her back stiffened in response. She forced her trembling hand to continue shoving food into her mouth as from the corner of her eyes she tracked his progress and her heart beat uncomfortably in anticipation. 

Her hand stilled when he sailed past her, nodding once when 751 called out, 'Sir!' before marching ahead.

Completely and totally ignoring her.

Max whipped her head, glaring at his retreating back. 'You just wait Alec, just you wait,' she mumbled under her breath, her jaw was clenched in anger and a dose of humiliation.

751 frowned after she witnessed the uncharacteristic behaviour of the girl sitting right in front of her. 'What was that all about?' she asked without preamble. 

Max turned and looked at the waiting girl, 'What?'

'Did I sense some animosity just now?'

'I beg your pardon?' Max asked quickly, unwilling to discuss what had just happened. 

'What's up with you and our delectable CO?'

'Nothing,' she said instantly.

'Then, for someone you don't really care about, you sure use a lot of energy to act like he pisses you off or something,' 751 replied straight-faced, glancing at the watchful guards.

'You're right, he's not worth it,' Max agreed immediately but she kept sneaking glances from the corner of her eyes. 

Alec had taken a seat a few tables away, sitting with his dark haired SIC. Max continued to watch as they talked slowly among themselves. Her eyes narrowed when she realized that the guard seemed to be paying more attention to the duo than the rest of the soldiers put together.

'Why are the guards doing that?' she didn't even realize she had asked the question out loud.

'Doing what?'

She motioned her head towards the two men, 'Them. Why are they under heavy guards?'

751 repressed the urge to roll her eyes. 452 could be so dense sometimes.

'For one, Manticore is afraid what their finest would do if for some reason they were left unguarded. Two, they don't want their prized possession to get some unwanted thoughts in those genetically engineered minds. That would prove to be unwise, given past histories,' she said bluntly and Max almost grinned. Almost but not quite.

'I didn't know Al.. I mean 494 was among the top ranking officers,' Max asked with a frown.

This time 751 didn't bother to hide her reaction, she rolled her eyes before smiling amusedly, 'Do you think the Director would let just any officers be the CO for this mission? He's the _crème de la crème, the best soldier Manticore has ever had and also the most difficult they've had to cope with.'_

Max's eyebrow rose a few inches, 'You have to be kidding. Him?'

But before 751 could elaborate on that particular subject, she was sidetracked by another arrival. After glancing to see that she had no guard's attention on herself, she waved him their way, gesturing for him to join them.   

634 smiled, his short fair hair seemed to enhance his dark eyes. After he sat besides 751, someone stopped by their table, 'Hey, is that seat taken?'

Max lifted her head and saw 238, the last member for their retrieval op mission. 'All yours,' she said without hesitation.

'Thanks,' the girl answered, pushing her long fair hair away before starting to eat. 

751 had started an animated conversation with 634, while 238 was engrossed in her meal and Max found her attention started to wander towards the far table. The object of her scrutiny was saying something while the other man was listening intently, nodding once in a while. Again, she saw the way the numerous guards were hovering by their elbows and she shuddered, how could he ignore their irritating presence, pretend that they weren't there? 

A frown flitted over her closed face; _I guess he's had much practice, that's why he didn't have too much trouble ignoring me earlier_. So deep in her own thought, she barely heard the voice that was calling her designation.

'452, hey 452! Are you still here?'

'Max, my name is Max,' she answered without thinking, tearing her gaze from her CO to focus on the other member of her unit. Her heart dropped to her feet when she saw the calculated look on each one of the faces that were looking at her. She also saw the wariness and unasked question that were plastered all over the three faces.

_Why do I have the feeling that the shit has hit the fan? _she thought with resignation. _Damn._

_To be continued..._


	11. chapter 11

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: Max and the others failed in their mission to blow up the DNA lab and in the process she was recaptured. After months of being submitted to the torturous Psy-ops she was sent to a new unit and her CO was none other than X5494. The unit was then sent on their first mission, a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story started to enfold.. 

***

Hmm it seems this is one of those days when I'm suddenly speechless.. so, without further ado, here's the next chapter. Again, the lovely Maia is my wonderful beta and I really want to thank her for that :) Oh yeah, thanks to all of you who had read and yes, reviewed as well. Your words inspired me to move my lazy self and write more ;)

***

Chapter Eleven.

With a sinking feeling Max turned towards her waiting fr.. emm members of her new unit. She saw the calculating look in their eyes and inwardly she cringed.

Dammit, that was _twice..  **twice**_she had made that never-been-done-before slip. All in less than twenty four hours. And it was all **_his_** fault.

Definitely his fault, she nodded to herself, no doubt about it. That cocky infuriating smart-alecky Commanding Officer sure was a very bad influence on her.

She lifted her eyes slowly to face the others, hoping against hope that it wasn't rejection that was going to appear in their eyes. For some reason the thought of being cast off by these people distressed her very much. Max sighed, that was one of the reasons she'd never let herself become emotionally attached to anyone before. But here, in Manticore, she had undoubtedly done the total opposite to what she was used to. Here she had the violent craving to do so, maybe just to remind herself that she was human after all, not the genetically enhanced _thing_ she was forcefully reminded off on a daily basis. 

Her breath was stuck in her throat as she saw the somewhat funny expression on their faces. She almost grinned; good, this she could take.

'What?' she asked after smoothing her face into what she hoped to be an amused and questioning look. Inside her standard issued gray shirt, her heart was racing like a mad thing, 'Have I split my skirt or something?'

751 snorted, 'You're not wearing a skirt,' she pointed out the obvious.

'I know,' Max answered simply, her dark brow was raised as she waited for their answer, 'Let's just say it was a figure of speech.' 

The redhead just shrugged but laughter was swimming in her eyes, 'Can I ask a question?' and without waiting for the reply she plunged ahead, 'What's up with the Max name thingy?'

'Well,' Max started cautiously, 'in the outside world people have names instead of designations.. and Max is my name.'

751 rolled her eyes, 634 chuckled and 238 stared as if she had lost her mind. 'You know.. Max, we do have some experience with the outside world,' 751 said with amusement, 'you didn't have to go to such length to explain that to us.' _Yup, 452.. or Max could be dense sometimes._

'Then why do you ask that in the first place?' although she thought she knew the answer, Max just had to ask.

'I don't know,' 751 moved her shoulders lightly, 'It just sounded.. weird. I mean, a name, here in this place.. Did I mention the weird part yet?'

'You did,' 634 nodded, grinning a little.

'Good, good. In that case you'll know what I mean. We never really associate normal names with ourselves,' 751 said a little hesitantly and the others just gave the affirmation.

'Well, in that case,' Max put in, 'why not give it a try?'

'Names?' 238 opened her mouth for the first time. The blond girl looked suspiciously excited at the prospect. 

'Yeah. So, who wants to go first?' 

The three X5's turned at looked at each other for a few seconds, as if trying to read each others thoughts. 238 chewed her lower lips, her gleaming blue eyes were turned to a dark shade of violet as they stared into 751's much lighter gray ones. But suddenly she spoke out, 'Kate.'

751 turned with surprise and asked, 'Kate? Don't tell me it's for Katherine Hepburn? Or wait, wait.. is it Catherine Zeta-Jones?'

With a laugh 238, or now Kate, shook her head before saying seriously, 'I was thinking more like Katherine the Great.'

'Right,' 751 grinned, 'I think that suits you perfectly.'

'Thank you,' Kate smiled, 'I think it suits me too.'

'So, what about you big guy? Thought of a name yet?' 751 turned to the silent blond man.

634 stared thoughtfully for a few more seconds before he finally spoke, 'I want something simple..' 

'Something simple, like.. Tom maybe? For Tom Cruise?' 751 said excitedly, her light eyes were dancing in glee.

'No way I would be named after a pre pulse actor,' 634 narrowed his eyes at the grinning girl, 'Now, if it were for Thomas Edison… yes that'd be more like it.'

'Of course, how silly of me to think otherwise,' the redhead winked cheekily, 'You have the look of the boringly stout scientist anyway.'

'Whatever,' he muttered, still shaking his head, 'But no, I was thinking more like.. Darren perhaps. What do you think?'

'Darren.. suits you,' 751 replied and Kate agreed, nodding her head at him.

'Great,' he smiled, 'And it's your turn now little girl. Let's see if you can do better.'

'Hmm,' she pushed the red stray strands away and stared unseeingly ahead, 'What about.. Arina. Oh yeah, I like the sound of that. Exotic and mysterious. Just like me.' She grinned widely and blatantly ignored their choking laughter. 

'Hey, you know what?' Kate suddenly piped in, a wicked glint in her eyes, 'I seem to remember a show about Rina the Clown.'

'You do not,' Arina replied instantly, 'There's no such show.'

'Says who?' Darren added, smiling a little at her doubtful expression, 'Maybe there was.. but then maybe there wasn't. Who can say for sure?'

'I doubt it,' Arina said with assurance, 'you're talking to me, remember? The one with the extensive knowledge of the entertainment world? I have it all in the back of my head,' she then turned to Max, 'I was sent on a mission once and my cover was a PR officer for an actor. Let me tell you, the glittering world of a glamorous actor is not as good as it seems to be.'

'Okay, time for me to go,' Darren picked up his tray and stood, 'I'll see you all soon.'

He turned and walked quickly away. The three girls watched silently, before noticing that a guard was approaching their table and instantly they turned their attention to their own trays, eating without a word.

'452,' the guard said sharply and Max lifted her head, 'the Director wants to see you in thirty minutes.'

_Damn, what did I do now? she thought to herself before she nodded once._

The guard stood for a while longer, surveying the three quiet girls before he spun around and a moment later was lost in the sea of bodies. 

'Ugh, what did you do this time girl?' Arina asked softly, worry was flitting over her eyes.

'Nothing,' she replied but her heart was thrumming loudly in her ears. _No, she can't have found out about my botch escape. There's no way she could've. But wait, this is the Director we're talking about. _

_Why do I have a bad feeling about this?_

***

'The guards, did you notice anything funny about the guards back in the woods?' 494 asked his Second-in-Command, his eyes didn't waver as he waited for the answer. His half touched tray was forgotten as he stared unblinkingly at the dark haired man in front of him.

'At the warehouse, yeah. There's something fishy about them all right,' 511 nodded, 'But the others that were stationed around the perimeter, no. We knocked them out real easy.'

'You're right about that. I wasn't anticipating any real resistance from the guards but they sure surprised me,' he said with a light frown.

'In what way?'

'Their strength, for one. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was fighting a transgenic.'

'Maybe you were,' 511 shrugged, 'Maybe this is one of the Director's little jokes. You know how twisted her sense of humor can be.'

'I know that.. but the thing is, they didn't have a barcode. I checked.'

A low whistle slipped from 511's lips, 'Freaky..'

'You got that right,' Alec nodded, leaning back in his chair as his hand was absentmindedly pushing his food around the tray.

'Are you gonna eat that?' 511 asked, gesturing at the tray, 'Cause as fine an exponent of modern art as that is, it doesn't look very edible right now.'

'Nah, lost my appetite,' he pushed the tray away and dropped his fork with a clatter, 'Another thing is, those freaks wouldn't stay down. I should've beat them senseless but they keep popping back up for more, it's like.. I don't know, they couldn't feel a thing.. or something equally far fetched.'

'You think they might be another Manticore out there?' 511 asked suddenly, 'With Manticore's technology but not the urge to brand the products with barcodes?'

'You may have a point there but for some reason I doubt that's it,' then he added slowly, 'it seems they know who we are.. _what__ we are, and they aren't too happy about it.'_

'This is getting weirder and weirder,' 511 heaved a huge breath, 'and how many of those did fight?'

'Two,' Alec said simply, 'They were strong, they were good but apparently, not good enough.'

'I gather you showed them who's the boss, huh?'

'Right again ol' fella,' he grinned.

'What about 452? Did she have any problems?' 511 put in with a hint of slyness. 

Alec almost chuckled as he recalled the event. 

_He could plainly see the fury that had surged through her as the guard just grinned after she had broken his arm. _

_'Okay.. this is getting freaky!'_

_He grinned after hearing the irritation in her voice, 'Need any help, my sweet?' he drawled, smirking at the image of her accepting his gallant offer._

_He had had serious doubts she was gonna go for it and that made the image so much better._

'Helloo? Anybody home?' 511 asked with a trace of amusement. 

Alec lifted his head and the green eyes narrowed instantly at the goofy grin that was plastered on his friend's face. The half smile that was hovering over his lips vanished and he almost growled, 'What?'

'You know what I've noticed recently 494?' 511 asked conversationally.

'No,' Alec saw the glee in the other man's eyes and he almost cringed. _Man, this is so not gonna be good._

'Whenever a certain someone is mentioned in your presence, you start going starry eyed. Isn't that highly interesting?' 

'No,' he answered again abruptly, 'I do _not go starry eyed when you mention__ 452. Maybe you should go and get those eyes of yours checked or something.'_

'Did I say 452 in my last sentence?' 511 asked smugly and almost laughed as his CO blanched, 'That's what I thought too.'

'Whatever,' Alec muttered under his breath, shooting his friend a glare, 'I have a debriefing to attend to. I'll see you later.. _if_ someone doesn't kill you first for being such an annoying jerk.'

511 just shook his head at 494's fast disappearing back, his eyes were still gleaming with suppressed laughter, 'You have it bad old friend, real bad.'

***

'And even though the guards were much more.. stronger than I anticipated, they didn't prove to be a problem. The mission was a complete success. The device was effectively retrieved as ordered,' the dutiful soldier that was standing in front of the Director said briskly, his back stiff as a board while his eyes were staring at the white wall behind the Director's back.

'Define stronger,' she asked suddenly, her smooth brows were marred in a light frown, 'You're an X5, those guards aren't supposed to be a problem.'

'It seems that the guards and us, X5452 and myself, are closely matched in strength and speed,' he said as a statement but the questions in his voice was cleverly hidden.

'I see,' the blond woman said slowly, 'but don't tell me they had a barcode?'

'Actually, no ma'am,' he replied instantly, 'all four guards had no barcode on their persons. I'm certain of that.'

'Hmm,' she said softly, a thoughtful expression on her face as a suspicion started to take root. _Can it be? Can we really be after the same thing? How poetically ironic._ Quickly, she pushed the niggling thought away and focused on the waiting soldier. 'But apart from that, I assume there were no more accidents?'

'Affirmative,' he answered instantly.

'Very good,' she nodded, somewhat satisfied, 'In that case you've done your job well. I knew you wouldn't disappoint me.' The director paused for a second, and took the time to scrutinize his blank expression, 'And because of that I have another assignment for you.'

494 blinked once and _wow, that was fast _ran through his mind but being the good soldier that he was, he refrained from voicing it out loud. 

'Effective immediately,' she added and the erect soldier in front of her didn't say anything. It wasn't expected of him to do so and both of them knew it. 'You will be deployed in exactly seven days.'

'Yes ma'am,' he answered quickly, shoving his surprise away. Usually, he wasn't assigned a mission this fast but of course, there was a first for everything.

Director Renfro sat straighter in her chair as she shuffled through the papers in front of her. She drew a slim file towards her and flicked through the content, skimming through with her sharp eyes. Satisfied, she put the file in front of him. 

'This is what we have so far. We are looking to get this company aboard our happy family so to speak and I want you to check this company yourself.'

'So I am to gather the Intel?' he asked, his face still blank.

'Not quite,' she answered, 'Actually, this is a deep cover mission. Long term. You're to get as close as you can to the mark, Phillip Duval.'

'Phillip Duval, the CEO for Pharmatech. 48 years old and estimated to be worth 0.4 billion dollars. He started Pharmatech 14 years ago and it has grown from a small pharmaceutical chain to the huge conglomerate it is today. The company specializes in advance cancer research and now they've started to dabble into gene splicing,' 494 reeled off matter-of-factly.

'Very good,' Renfro nodded twice, 'I want you to see what he has so far, his research which will be very rewarding to us _and I got the feeling that the man himself will be a very good ally. I want you to get him on our side. Just to make sure he won't be double crossing us. You will be briefed later.'_

'Yes ma'am,' he said without expression. 'As you know solo missions are my expertise.' _Which means I won't be able to get on Max's nerve anymore now, will I? Hmm I'll miss those happy hours all right. Oh wait, it's not like we're on speaking terms anymore so I guess it doesn't matter much. But if it isn't, why do I have this heavy sinking feeling? _He almost sighed, _human emotions are so hard to comprehend. _

'Not this time 494,' Renfro said, a foreign light brightening up her eyes, 'I've assigned a partner for you for this particular mission. You're going to need all the help you can get.'

For the countless time, he pushed the surprise away. It was unwise to show the Director his feelings in this matter. He kept his mouth shut as he waited for the additional information, standing still and stiff in front of the fair headed Director.

'Both of you will penetrate the enemy's line, that's your goal, and once inside I want you to gather as much information as you can on your mark and just follow your orders. His additional profile is in your dossier,' she gestured towards the thin file in front of him.

Alec took the file and quickly he went through the information, soaking the info into his quick mind. 

Renfro quickly added, 'We have established your cover, you are going to be Pharmatech's newest researcher. You'll be working for the mark and with your position it will easy to gather the needed information.'

'And what about my partner? Will he be working with or for me?' he asked before he realized what he had done.

But the Director ignored his breach of protocol and answered, 'No, your partner won't be there to just back you up from the sideline. In this mission I think two heads are better than one. You two will be working side by side.'

He nodded his agreement but the Director was not done yet, 'And you're wrong about another thing as well.'

Refusing the urge to arc his brow, he waited patiently for her to explain but she just looked at him with something akin to amusement. And at that exact second, someone knocked at her door.

'Come in,' she called out, leaning back into her chair, '494, this is your partner.'

Alec turned around slightly and his jaw almost dropped as Max walked into the room.

_What the hell?!_

_To be continued.._


	12. chapter 12

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: Max and the others failed in their mission to blow up the DNA lab and in the process she was recaptured. After months of being submitted to the torturous Psy-ops, she was sent to a new unit and her CO was none other than X5494. The unit was then sent on their first mission, a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story started to enfold.. 

*******

**A/N- well, here we are again. A new chapter. Wow, I can hardly believe it lol Frankly, this chapter was all because of Maia. She nudged me in the right direction to start writing, she gave me some of her busy time to beta it (even when she was working late and all. Isn't she the best?) so without her, I won't even start a thing yet hee *hugs her Maia***

Last but not least, thanks to all of you for being very patient with my lack of update ;) and an extra thank you to all who had leave a review *winks at Dani* You're all the best :D Now go, read and review! Who knows, I might feel the need to update some time soon lol

*******

Chapter twelve.

'I believe you two have met?' the Director asked dryly, nodding her head at the newly arrived Max.

'Permission to speak ma'am,' Alec turned quickly and said with a desperate air about him. He couldn't believe this was happening. Either his wild wish had been granted or it would end up being a nightmare. Then he continued when Renfro tipped her head in agreement, 'Do you think pairing us up again is a wise choice?'

'Are you by any chance questioning my orders, soldier?' she said with exaggerated slowness, but her icy eyes were shooting sharp edged daggers at the two X5's in front of her.

Alec clenched his teeth and his eyes snapped to the wall, staring blankly at the white space behind her. 'No ma'am.'

Besides him, Max who had just walked in continued to blink with bewilderment. She had only managed to catch several words from his sudden question. _What the hell is going on here? _

'Good,' she replied abruptly, 'and since I'm not in the mood to repeat myself all over again 452, I'll leave the briefing to your Handler. He'll explain everything in finer detail to both of you. And 494?'

Instantly, his rigid spine stiffened, 'Yes ma'am?'

'Get yourself to the hospital wing. That wound should be taken care of right away, I don't like the look of that. 452, make sure he gets there.'

'Yes ma'am.'

She nodded, satisfied with their answer, 'You're dismissed.'

Quickly, both of them turned as one and left the office. Max, who was still as clueless as the time she stepped into Renfro's office snuck a glance at the man at her side. She frowned as she saw the way he was favoring his wounded side and her guilt returned with all its full force. And then a snippet of his question to the Director found its way to her chaotic brain. 

_pairing_.. again.. wise choice..__

Whoa! Freeze and rewind. What the..?

She froze and stopped dead in her track, staring at him with wide eyes. 'Care to explain what was going on in there?' she blurted out without hesitation. 

Alec stopped walking and turned slowly to face her before arching his beautifully shaped brow. Then, he just stood there, not saying a word.

Heat flooded her face at his eyes continued to scrutinize her reddening features. 'Umm sir?' she added after she had a wild flash of her jumping his delicious bones to take the sharp gaze away from her tomato-like self at the moment. 

Under the hazy cloud that had taken temporary residence on her so called brain, a few thoughts started to make their presence known.

Jumping his bones: should be a blast. After all, she had already had a trial session on that one.

Remove the heart-pounding stare from herself: you're out of your mind if you're seriously considering that. I mean, hello? 

Tomato-like self: ugh, that is _so not good. After all, a girl had to look her best.. especially if there was a hot hunk in the vicinity._

A second later, she almost groaned and mentally she slapped her forehead._ I'm acting worse than a giggling schoolgirl with her first crush! That's what I've been reduced to, I'm a simpering idiot._

All the while of this inner furious battle, Alec continued to study the young woman in front of him. His brow inched higher as he saw the myriad of emotion that were chasing each other over her flawless face.

At first, he had seen the kick-ass attitude that he had started to associate with her. A second later, he was fascinated by the blush that was creeping in, turning her face into a charming rosy hue. After that, her eyes had started to glaze over and this soft expression had started to sink in, and Alec would have given anything to know what she had been thinking.

Preferably if he was included somewhere in that satisfying thought.

But a mere second later, it dissolved as her eyes sharpened and she put on her standard-Alec-expression. He could clearly see the hint of the glare that she was shooting his way, even as she had started to stare blankly at something over his shoulder. Under her stiff soldierly mask, she still managed to project her glower to him.

And he'd be damned if he didn't found it endearing.

Alec mentally sighed, why was it so hard to keep his anger and hurt intact? But maybe letting go was the best thing to do.

Angst was not for him after all.

He smothered the satisfied smirk that had started to appear as he crossed his arms loosely over his chest. 'The added sir was a very nice touch. And what was the question again.. Max?' he leaned slightly towards her as he whispered the last word.

Max shivered, her wide eyes skidded towards his and managed to catch the cheeky glint. She almost laughed out loud with relief when she realized that he wasn't as mad with her as he was a couple of hours ago. 

Funny, she never cared what other people thought of her before. But then, she recalled his question and tried frantically to remember what she had asked in the first place. What was it again? umm.. right! 

'The Director mentioned something about a briefing,.. sir?' she asked, pushing her tumultuous thoughts safely out of sight. 

'That's right, you've been issued a new assignment. Deployed in seven days. Deep cover, long term mission.' Alec then waited for her other questions. He had started to learn that as a soldier, she hadn't got the just-obey-your-superiors part just yet. 

Which was a pity. He would have a very delightful time ordering her around.

But he couldn't see her blindly following orders either. 

And that intrigued him. A lot.

'And that something about pairing?' the question just burst from her lips before she could really think it over.

Alec tried his damnest to hide a grin. Boy, he loved it when he was right.

'Pairing?' And riling her up came to a close second. 

'Yeah, pairing.. wise choice? Made any sense to you?' the odd glint in his eyes unnerved her but she just had to ask. She and her big mouth. One of these days, it would get her in serious trouble.

'Oh,' he looked thoughtfully at her, 'you mean when I said; Yes ma'am, pairing 452 with me as my breeding partner is a very wise choice indeed. That one?'

'What?!' she shrieked, her eyes had turned as wide as saucers in alarm. 'You have to be kidding! That's the long term mission?'

'Haven't you heard? Manticore wanted to experiment with a more,.. shall we say _natural method for the newer line of Xs,' he replied straight-faced, staring unblinkingly into her horror stricken face. 'And they think I'll be the perfect partner for you.'_

'Just try it Romeo, and see if you like being kicked to the door,' she snapped, her icy cold stare could probably rival Renfro's. 

Alec turned and laughed as he shook his head in wonder, almost bent over as he laughed like he had never laughed before. 'Oh god, where's you sense of humor Max? Think about it for a while, it's not like the DNA lab is destroyed so that means they'll just keep whipping up embryos into surrogates, just like they always do. You're an easy target, do you know that?'

'That means no.. ahem,' she coughed, 'breeding program?'  

'Why? Did I give you an intriguing idea to ponder on?' he asked with a wink.

'Oh shut up Alec,' she mumbled, taking faster strides to distance herself from this unbearably annoying man beside her. Even though he had a face attractive as an angel's, he sure was a pain in the ass. _An angel?_ she mused thoughtfully, _With that cocky, smart alecky attitude? A devil is more like it._

And oh, what a handsome devil he was.

A good boy and a bad boy. 

Give me the bad one any day. Interesting stuff happens when you're around one. 

As if she just realized her train of thought, Max sighed. 'And I've started to ramble,' she muttered under her breath, 'can I blame him for that too?'

'One moment,' he called to her retreating back and with great reluctance, she spun to face him.

'It seems we're in a deep cover mission together,' he started after he was by her side.

'Together?' she asked skeptically, 'or is this one of your jokes too?'

'Hey, don't bust my chops about my attempt to lighten the atmosphere,' he gave her a sidelong glance, 'and frankly, I was as surprised as you were. I work better solo.'

'So this is a real deal?' she asked with a sigh.

'As real as you can get darlin',' he drawled and she just rolled her eyes.

'Just my luck,' Max threw her hands up and walked faster. 'Can't this get any worse?'

'Well, my cover at Pharmatech is their newest researcher. For all I know, they might send you in as my girlfriend, or even better.. as my wife,' he winked suggestively and Max succumbed to her constant urge to growl. She'd have to bite his neck some other time then.

'Don't get your hopes up,' she snarled before flipping her hair back. 'And for all I know,' she mimicked his earlier words, 'they might send me in as your sister.. or someone you're related to. Wouldn't _that _be good?' Turning regally, she marched aloofly away.

Alec's amused grin grew wider and then he followed the fuming girl. 'Yeah, but we both know otherwise, right?' 

Max ignored him and continued marching across the hallway. Alec sighed but he still looked at her with amusement, 'Hey Max, would you please slow down?' he called out as she practically ran. 'I don't want to tear apart your neat handwork you know.'

Max grumbled under her breath and stopped walking, then began tapping her feet as he took his own sweet time to close the gap between them. Even with a bullet hole, he should be able to walk faster than that, right? She tried hard to maintain her ebbing anger and at the same time push the recurring guilt away.

After he was a foot or so from her, she sent him a ferocious glare under lowered lids before spinning around and stalking off in the opposite direction. Her temper bristled as from behind her, she heard the low deep rumble of his laugh. 

_You're so going down, she thought as her fury started to boil dangerously. She took the left turn unconsciously and started to plot her revenge. _

_Hmm, that long term mission has started to sound real good to me. Chances for escaping and getting even. But it doesn't necessarily have to be in that order._

'Uh Max?' came the amused question. 

'What is it,.. sir?' she asked politely back but it was plain to see the true intention behind her strained smile.

'Where exactly are we going?' he asked conversationally, looking around with a light frown. But those eyes gave him away in a heartbeat. 

'Hospital wing, as ordered by the Director,' she explained slowly, as her defenses started snapping into place. That glint, she had seen it too many times not to feel wary.

'In that case, I believe the hospital wing is,' he pointed at the other turn, 'that way.'

Max stood blinking for a few seconds, trying desperately to get her bearings. And willing frantically that he would be wrong. But she wasn't as lucky this time. 

He was right.

Forcing another smile to show him that she did not have the urge to sink through the floor, she decided to count to ten before she trust herself enough to open her mouth again. But he took matters into his own hand and waved a hand gracefully towards the opposite hallway. 'After you,' he said with a grin.

Her jaw was clenched tightly, a precaution to stop any unwanted words from slipping through her lips as they were prone to do lately. With a polite nod, she spun and started in the opposite direction. 

Alec chuckled to himself at the murderous look in her eyes and followed her. 

*

In the quiet room, a frail looking woman was seen putting away some sterilized instruments from a tray. Her wiry gray hair was scraped tightly into a neat bun while a pair of wire rimmed glasses was perched on her long nose. The dark, almost black eyes were sharp; missing nothing, seeing everything. Her thin lips never smiled, not intentionally anyway. The slim and thin hands were strong and unlike their frail outward appearance, these pair of hands had done pretty much everything in this lady's lifetime. Which, looking from her perspective, had been a while.

Her hand stilled as the door was knocked sharply. Without turning, she barked in a no-nonsense voice, 'Come in.' And then she continued with her work.

The dark eyes darted, and from their corners she saw her patient. With her back still facing the door she greeted her patient in her usual fashion. 

'I haven't see you in a while,' she grunted as her hands kept putting away the tool of her trade, 'and here I was, thinking that maybe I'd take that break, this old back is killing me if you're interested enough to know. What have you done to yourself this time?'

'An old dragon like you? Rest?' 494 shook his head and laughed, 'You'll drive yourself crazy with that much free time in your hands, Peach. And why am I here? Maybe I just want to drop by for a chat and a cup a tea? Ever thought of that?'

'Hmph,' the black eyes almost disappeared as they turned into narrowed slits. 'In that case, you should wait for the Queen of England for that. I don't do teas.. and I definitely don't chat.'

'What a shame,' he shook his head in mock disappointment. 'Anyway.. earlier today, for some reason this weird bunch of people had the unfounded notion that if they shot me.. they'd be happy,' he shrugged and with a careless wave pushed the matter aside. 'So, it's a bullet wound this time.'

'Why did I even bother to ask?' she grumbled as he strode towards her. 'It's always a bullet wound with you. With your record, I marvel they still let you command a unit. You must be in Manticore's Hall of Fame,' and with a glance at his side, 'for the most easy target practice. Or something similar.'

'I didn't know you loved to exaggerate, Peaches,' he said, the wounded face firmly in place. 'I've only got shot what.. a couple of times, in the last couple of months. That's not so bad.'

'Yeah yeah,' she muttered and pushed him into the exam table. 'Sit down and let me see what you've done to yourself. I swear, I must've patched you up god knows how many times. I should've start leaving signatures.'

'And maim this perfectly engineered body? You wouldn't have the heart, Peach.'

'The name's Peters,' the old woman grunted as she scrutinized his wound. The wizened fingers hovered over the reddish flesh as her dark eyes took everything in. 'Looks good, the wound looks clean but I need to see more. Clark!' she suddenly barked and from somewhere, another technician popped his head into the exam room.

'What is it, Ms Peters?'

'I want his chest's x-ray done,' she said without preamble and the tech assistant nodded. She turned to her patient and said sharply, 'Try not to get shot in the next five minutes, I don't think Clark would be happy about that.'

'I'll try Peaches, I'll try,' with a grin, he disappeared into the other room.

'Hmph, that rogue can charm the pants off a seething mad viper,' she muttered as she snapped her latex glove off. Peters balled the used glove, threw it into the nearest bin and she caught sight of the silent Max. 'And you are?'

'X5-452 ma'am!' instantly she snapped to attention, pushing the thought of a smirking Alec at her very prompt reaction.

'452..' the older woman seemed to mull it over, 'you're one of the 09's.' With a straight look, she then waited for Max's reaction to her blunt statement.

'Yes ma'am,' Max replied immediately, still staring blankly at the wall behind Peterson's back.

'One question for you 452,' and after Max turned her eyes at her, Peters continued in her brisk manner. 'If you're smart enough to get out of this hellhole in the first place, why are you stupid enough to be recaptured now?'

Her startled eyes skidded to the ever mysterious dark eyes and Max gulped, for the first time in her life speechless. No one had dared to ask that question ever since she had been here and now, to hear that very same question that had been plaguing her day and night, thrown back right in her face, she had no answer to give.

The next few seconds, both of them continued to hold each other's gaze, unwilling to be the first one to back off.

'The x-ray,' Clark's arrival broke the uneasy silence and without a word Peters marched to the other end of the room and studied the x-ray. 

'You're lucky,' she told the newly emerged Alec, her eyes still glued to the film, 'another few millimeters to the left, we'd be attending your funeral.'

'I'm always all right, didn't you know that?'

'So I hear. You know the drill; take it easy for a bit. Now go, I can't wait to get off these feet. Hopefully, I won't see you for a while.'

'Seems you got your wish,' he answered cheerfully, shrugging back into his gray shirt, 'I've been assigned to a long term mission.'

'Try not to get yourself killed, I'm not looking forward to an autopsy this late in my life,' the old bird reminded him gruffly but for a second Max thought she saw a glint of worry shining from the black eyes.

'I'll keep that in mind.' With a wave, he disappeared.

Both of them were silent as they walked together down the hallway. 'You two seem to know each other very well,' Max started somewhat hesitantly. 

'That's one way to put it,' he started to look thoughtful, 'as she said, she patched me up too many times to remember.'

'She looks.. I don't know, nice.. I guess,' Max shrugged at her choice of words.

'Peaches?' he asked with amusement. 'Most of the soldiers here can't stand her sharp barb-wire-fence tongue. But underneath that icy cold demeanor, that old dragon's got a very big heart.'

'Our old doctors.. weren't like that,' she replied weakly, turning her attention to her still shiny boots.

'What makes you think that old Peaches is our resident doctor?' he asked suddenly, stopping to stare at her.

Max paused in mid stride, frowning into his eyes, 'She's not?'

'No, more like the doctor's assistant.. she's a nurse,' he answered before adding slowly. 'I don't know how bad your old doctors were, but let me tell you something; the doctor's around here, they love to turn you into their own personal guinea pigs, with or without Manticore's knowledge.. to put it simply. You have no idea how relieved I was a few minutes ago to see that the doctor was out.'

His sudden and surprising admission finally opened her eyes to her surroundings. So, she was _not_ the only victim within 20 miles radius as she seemed to think lately. Max chewed on her lower lips and started to look at him in a fresher light, mulling over what he had just said.

Alec's brow crinkled as he saw the changing light in her eyes; was that _pity _he saw swimming in her eyes? 

No way in hell would he let her feel sorry for him, even if it was for a shared hellish childhood. And at that exact moment he recalled her speedy flight during their brief time in the cave, and what had taken place soon after. A plan took shape in his mind, wicked he could admit, but extremely enjoyable nonetheless. 

And it was safe to say that he was speaking for both parties in this matter.

'You know, Max,' he said in a low tone, walking slowly towards her. 'I think we need to talk.'

'Umm talk?' she replied, a little preoccupied with his glinting hazel eyes. _Is that all you have in mind right now?_

'Uh huh,' he agreed good naturedly, a complete contrast to the feral glint in his eyes, 'remember what happened in that cave earlier?'

'Cave?' she almost whispered as he took the final step, his body was a mere inch away. Her muddled brain tried to focus but it was a hopeless case.

'Yeah,' he leaned down and moved his face slowly from her flushed face to her neck. The warmth of his breath glided lightly over her heated skin and Max shuddered. 

From the slender cradle of her nape, Alec tipped his head a bit and grinned, 'Good to see that you still remember, Maxie.'

'Remember?' she asked dazedly. He wanted her to think clearly at a time like this?

'You shuddered the first time I did this too,' he said in a low husky voice before pressing his hungry lips to her waiting neck lightly. His touch was so light, it felt like she was brushed with a soft feather. But when his lips touched her skin, her knees turned to jelly and her hands clutched at his shirt, desperate for something to hold on to. Her eyes fluttered close as his lips continued with their light caress.

'And when I did this,' his tongue flicked and traced the frantic pulse point and she almost buckled, 'you did that too.'

Instantly, his hand tightened its hold on her, wrapping themselves firmly around her waist. Max sighed and let his strong hands steady her.

Her glazed eyes watched as he moved with a torturous slowness, showering minute detail on every inch of her skin from her neck to her ears. One of her hands crept from his shirt, moving upwards, tracing the familiar contours of his chest to wind itself tightly at his neck as her world started to spin dizzily. 

She stretched, almost standing on her toes as his tantalizing mouth was working wonders, painting the sizzling picture in her mind of what he was doing and what he was about to do to her. He nibbled gently on the soft line of her jaw and if it wasn't for his hand, she would've crumpled in a heap. 

The mist of bliss had finally clouded over her judgment and for that she was thankful. Because now, she wouldn't have to agonize over every decision but instead, she could just act straightly from instinct.

And right now, her instinct was telling her in every way imaginable to go for it.

She agreed completely. No argument from her this time.

A soft sigh escaped from her parted lips as his clever tongue traced the soft pink swirls of her ear and unconsciously her own hand started its own exploration. She tugged impatiently at his gray shirt before slipping her small hands through the gap, moving up over what had seemed like acres of hard muscle. Underneath her palm, the feel of the rippling strength was a very heady sensation and she basked in the glow of his body's reaction to her touch. 

'I believe you were in too much of a hurry to do that earlier,' he whispered, a little hoarsely as he gestured at her roving hand.

'You always talk too much,' she murmured and brought his head up, her lips were already parted in eager anticipation. 

Without waiting for additional encouragement, his tongue darted in and hers met his halfway before engaging in a fight for dominance. And this time he won, but it was something she was glad of losing.

He growled, from the back of his throat as he deepened the kiss and she tipped her head a little, allowing his seeking lips better contact. Her long graceful fingers were fisted among his dark blond locks, while her other hand was still on its never-ending journey of getting acquainted with his hard firm body.

Alec almost groaned as he could feel her small teeth scraping against his lower lips and his tongue dashed in to reclaim his contested victory. Max welcomed the new challenge and the second fight begun. 

All this while his hands had been at her waist, supporting her slack body with his incredible strength but now, he pushed her slowly against the hard wall so that he could free one of his hand. After that, he started running his unrestricted hand over the soft swell of her hips and the strong line of her thigh.   

Slowly, his thoughts started disappearing as the red hot cloud of passion started to take the place for rationality. He knew, given enough time she would come to her senses and bolt but he couldn't seemed to make himself stop. But he knew they would have to, sooner or later. As delightful as this was, it would be nearly impossible to continue.

Reluctantly he broke the heated kiss and saw her disappointed look. He motioned at the ceiling and Max finally realized that he had cleverly maneuvered them into a hidden corner, one place where the numerous surveillance cameras couldn't reach. But they wouldn't have all day, the guards would get suspicious and if that were to happen, it would not be pretty.

'What was that about?' she asked, a little out of breath while her hands were still tangled with a couple of his body parts. Namely his neck and torso.

'To show you what you're missing,' he replied with a wink before leaning in for another quick kiss. 

Max sighed softly as his light airy kiss sent a bucketful of hot burning liquid down to her toes. Instantaneously, her hold on him tightened and she pulled him closer to her.

Alec felt her reaction and he was tempted as hell to throw caution to the wind and just do what they were both longing for. But alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Regretfully, he unwound her hands and again nodded his head upwards, reminding her of their whereabouts. 

'Just pray real hard they're not sending you in as my sister,' he whispered in her ears after he had pushed a couple of her rumpled strands away, 'or it's gonna be a very _long long term mission.' _

_Oh yeah, jumping his bones sure was a blast. With that thought to accompany her, Max started on wobbly legs back to her cell, stealing quick glances at the man beside her every few seconds._

_Why do I get the feeling that things will get messier soon? It has never been easy for me so why should it this time?_

Unable to answer her own questions, Max kept walking and right next to her, Alec did the same.

_to_ be continued..__

*******

**A/N 2- after writing and reading this chap, I thought about raising the rating. Just to be on the safe side,.. but I think I'm still in the PG13 boundaries, am I right? Ah well, if it isn't just tell me and I'll change it to R *shrug* **

And just to let you know, I blame Panda totally for that. No, not the do-I-have-to-change-the-rating-or-not dilemma but why I had to think about changing it in the first place. Yup, that somewhat steamy last scene ;) That's all _her _fault. All those talks about me writing smut; so missy, I'm dedicating that 'mini smut' scene to you ;) 

Since I am not a smut writer, (if Panda gets her way, then add the word yet to that last sentence) I will have to try and catch the Smut Queen herself one of these days. As if this moment, I really hate the time difference factor. So Jewel, make sure you have a copy of 'Writing Smut for Dummies' or 'The Idiot's Guide to be One Heck of a Smut Writer' ready for me the next time I see you. Heh 


	13. chapter 13

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: Max and the others failed in their mission to blow up the DNA lab and in the process she was recaptured. After months of being submitted to the torturous Psy-ops, she was sent to a new unit and her CO was none other than X5494. The unit was then sent on their first mission, a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story started to enfold.. 

***

A/N- This chapter was a little rushed, to say the least. It was whipped out between chatting last night, believe it or not. Okay, here's the deal. This chapter has not been beta'd.. yet. I have to post it before Tuesday or it won't be up for at least a couple of weeks. And seeing that I haven't posted anything new for quite a while, I thought I'd put this up earlier. I'll change it after Maia has beta'd it. _Maybe _with added scenes.. I'm not sure, still thinking about it ;)

A/N2- Someone asked if I was planning on updating my stories, and the answer is yes. But I don't think 'regularly' was the word we're looking for lol But please, keep the reviews coming. They do have the power to change my mind and urge me to start working immediately :) 

***

Chapter Thirteen. 

The wind whistled through the sparse treetops, whispering its haunting melodies to anyone who had the time to sit and listen. But the soft sounds went past the still figures before disappearing into the denser part of the forest.

Under the shade of a particularly tall tree, the slight form of a half concealed brunette was crouching beside the rough trunk as she peered into the distance. The small hand parted the leaves slowly and she noted her surroundings with her sharp eyes. 

The hot blinding sun was shining mercilessly on anyone and anything within its path before being bounced back from the dark ground to the waiting clear sky. Max sighed and was very thankful she had pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail, leaving her neck blessedly bare. She tried to blow the damp tendrils off her forehead, ignoring the drops of sweat that were sliding down her cheek. 

She shuffled for a bit as she continued to keep her vigil, it was what she was supposed to do after all. Even though she was distracted as hell, lifelong training had come to aid almost instinctively.

While her dark brown eyes scanned the area, something persisted in niggling at her subconscious. She was on edge, that's for sure and she had no idea what was going on in her life right now. Well, she had a clue on what had been successful enough in unsettling her but was she going to accept that Alec had been pretty much the sole source? Oh no, her pride wouldn't let it. 

Admit the fact to herself? With great reluctance, quite probably.

But admit it? Only when hell freezes over. 

Her eyes darken instantly and she tightened her jaw as she remembered the last five days. After that _very_ stormy kiss in the hallway, she had kinda expected something more (not that she would freely admit it, of course. Just see the above reasoning) but he had done nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Nothing for five long days.

Max sat among the bushes and let her dissatisfaction ran around with free reign. She recalled the day after the kiss, a very hot morning just like this one; she remembered without problem the way she had trudged in after their daily morning run. He was not among the other X5s as they sped across the yard.. not that she had been looking for him. Nothing as silly as that. 

She had been walking across the corridor, flanked by the other soldiers; sweaty and disheveled when she almost bumped into the devil himself.

The devil who was immaculately neat and tidy; in other words, good enough to eat.

Whoever said that life was fair was a certified idiot.

With her heart beating furiously in her throat, she had waited breathlessly for his usual quick grin or his cheeky wink, anticipated it in fact but he just sailed past her without so much as a nod. 

God, she had been a fool.

Although she knew he had done the right thing by not acknowledging her presence, she had somehow stupidly hope for the opposite. You didn't go around kissing a girl senseless and ignored her the next day.

But then again, they had to call good old Manticore home.

The present Max pouted, lost in thought; but he should've made some effort to.. well, talk to her. Or drove her crazy was more likely but hello.. someone was starving for some form of conversation here. Even if she decided not to return the favour of replying, it was the principle that matters. And talking, or arguing with him sure beats staring at a blank wall.

The soft wind blew her ponytail lightly against her neck and she decided that brooding was not such a bad thing after all. Good enough to pass the time anyway.

'Are you sure we're on the right trail?' Someone whispered from behind and Max knew the question was not for her. Even though she didn't move a muscle from her lookout position, she could almost see how their team leader rolled his eyes for the answer.

'Yes 238, I am absolutely certain on that fact. Now be quiet, you're going to get us killed.' 

Max just shook her head in amusement as she heard the low sounding, 'Yeah yeah, you're the boss here.'

Arina sure was not a happy camper right now. And judging from his expression, so was 511. 

Quickly, Max pushed the branches out of her way and peered into the sun-baked ground as she tried to spot the other teams. But no, she didn't see anyone yet.

Earlier that morning, all of them had been surprised with an unexpected and on the spot exercise. The task? 

Hostage retrieval.

In groups of threes, they were to work together to be the first team to find the location of where a hostage was held and successfully free the hostage from his or her captor. They were given no maps, no directions, no Intel on the enemy. All they knew was that someone was held against their will and it was their job to free the prisoner.

Should be easy for a genetically engineered soldiers right? 

Not quite. Not when another few dozen transgenics were trying to do the exact same thing.

Trying to hide and run from another X5s were not as easy as it looked. Even if you were one yourself.

But she should have plenty of fun shooting her ire at the other soldiers. Literally. Their orders were also to eliminate anyone who posed a threat to the mission, and other groups were automatically considered the enemy. 

Max was still checking her surroundings when 511 turned around and spoke seriously to the waiting Arina. 'Follow my lead 238, and you won't be the one going down. I'll make sure of that.'

But the other girl just snorted at his show of gallantry, 'Thanks for the advice. You know what, maybe I should've call you Mr Big Shot. It'll fit you like a second skin.'

'Very funny,' he looked patronizingly at her. 'It's like calling a girl Miss A Mile Long Legs or Miss Very Big,' he saw the look she gave him but he managed not to laugh, 'Eyes. What else do you think I was going to say?' He deadpanned. 'And I have to say I resent being called Mr Big Shot. It offends my sensibilities and anyway who would be stupid enough to be stuck with that name?'

'A little word to help you out sir,' Arina answered with an arched brow. 'Improvise. Add words, take out some, shuffle them for all I care. Whatever. We were _not _sent here to sit on our asses and spent the day yapping.' Impatiently, the fiery redhead tugged at her dark cap, revealing a hint of her flaming hair. Quickly, she pushed them back in. In this clear day, her hair would be a dead giveaway if it wasn't carefully hidden. 'Can we go now? I'm in the mood to kick some butt.'

511 was still for a few more seconds, the dark eyes were thoughtful as he thought it over. 'What about.. Biggs?' he asked suddenly. 'Not too bad if I say so myself.' 

'Yeah, not too bad,' she agreed with a shrug.

Grinning slightly to himself, he signaled for them to move forward.

Max who was ten feet or so in front of them turned and gestured that she's going ahead to scout. At her leader's nod, she moved lightly into the sun streamed undergrowth. After walking for a while, she stopped and noticed a little clearing right in front of where she was standing. 

She kept motionless, still half hidden by the trees dotting at the edge of the clearing and again listened to her surroundings. A mere second later a wide grin broke over her face as her sharp hearing detected something. Or someone.

__

Gotcha.

But before she could turn and followed the source of the sound, her dark eyes widen in amazement at the sight that just appeared in front of her. 

__

Son of the.. damn!

Max practically stopped breathing, her heart was beating furiously while her eyes were a little glazed in shock as the brown orbs clashed with the waiting hazel.

__

What do I do? Oh god, what do I have to do? she thought frantically. Her chaotic mind whirred to the last five days, the stolen kiss in the hallway, her state of mind after that, his prolonged absence and not to mention her still unstable emotions. 

__

Two can play at this game, she thought with a hint of desperation as she tried hard to convince herself. She stared hard at his blank face, trying desperately to find some hint of emotion in him but under the hood of his dark green cap, his eyes were unreadable.

Looking at his still unmoving form for the last time, she was ready to spin around and walked off. But before she could do that, he did something totally unexpected.

Which practically blows her off her feet.

His lips quirked and he grinned in that way of his that always made her knees wobbled.

She was ashamed to admit that that was all it took for her to change her mind.

__

Dammit, I'm getting soft. 

Inwardly she grimaced as all her dissatisfaction and anger at him came crashing down, evaporated by the sudden ray of happiness. Max had to work very hard not to break into a silly grin herself, she was absurdly happy at that moment. And all because he had smiled at her. But will he be aware of that little fact? No way in hell. She had after all her dignity and pride to answer to.

The still hidden smile lightened up her eyes as one thought streaked through her mind. The women who was supposed to be able to wrap their men around their little finger right? But why did it have to be the other way around with her? But hey, maybe there _was _something she could do about it. 

At that moment, both of them forgot entirely about their task, they were too engrossed with each other to remember anything else, cut out from the rest of the universe by a hazy glimmering wall. For them right then, the only one who existed was the two of them.

But Max _did_ remember something, what he had whispered to her less than a week ago.

__

'Just showing you what you're missing.'

I'll show _him _what he's missing, she thought decisively and her eyes gleamed with what she had in mind. Slowly but surely she ran her fingers lightly upward until they arrived at their destination. 

The slender line of her neck.

She tugged out a strand of hair and started playing with it, twirling them around her finger, all the while smiling at him who was standing at the opposite side of the clearing. Her ponytail brushed against the back of her neck as the slow breeze started picking up speed.

Under the shade of his dusky cap, his grin grew wider and she almost sighed at the sudden feral gleam in his eyes. Eyes gleaming, she let the silky strand go and pushed the hair from her shoulder, baring the smooth skin to his heated eyes.

Alec took an unconscious step forward and froze on spot as a few feet away Max did the same thing. Quickly she whipped around and after a last lingering look at Alec, she melted into the bushes.

Alec sighed, disappointed and disappeared into the opposite side of the forest. A few seconds later two figures materialized beside him. 

'What do we have so far?' he asked to the two waiting X5s; 634 and 751, two members from his last mission.

'The location is less than five clicks away and there's two team scattered around in a hundred feet radius.' The tall blonde 634 answered.

'Good job man,' Alec said with a quick grin. 'Let's move out. I wanna see who's better at playing hide and seek.'

*

Max lengthened her stride without any problem even though she was practically plowing over small bushes. She can feel how the other transgenic was on her tail and that irritated her to no end that she had been successfully marked.

__

Next time, less flirting and keep your mind on the job. 

Leaping over a somewhat tall undergrowth, she rolled before coming to a stop behind a tall tree. Without hesitation, she trained her gun on her nearly invisible pursuer and pulled the trigger. Almost instantly a yellow spot stained his standard issued gray shirt.

'I hate getting all sweaty, buddy,' she whispered as she wiped the sweat drops away from her jaw. 'Let's just say that was my little petty revenge.'

Grinning a bit, she turned but before she could move a muscle, something wet and sticky splattered itself on her sleeve. She turned with a frown and, 'Shit!'

Cursing under her breath, she flopped back on the ground and laid still. Technically, she was dead so getting comfortable was a very good idea. As comfortable as you can get from lying on the hard dusty ground.

She blew a heavy breath and moved a bit to get comfortable. There was no telling how long she had to lay there anyway. 

*

Alec crouched at the skirt of the jungle, assessing the situation with his calm calculated eyes. He turned to his waiting team members and gestured at the far end of the forest.

'There's only another soldier left in this side and two more over there. If you can cover me, I think that hostage is ours.'

'No problem sir,' the 751 answered and 634 hitched his gun higher in response. 

'On the count of three, one.. two.. three!'

Without another word, Alec leapt up and dashed towards the secluded shack fifty feet away while his team members started shooting at the possible threats. Within minutes, 511 and the other two soldiers were down and Alec had successfully freed the hostage.

It was somewhat of an anticlimax when after all that excitement and adrenaline, they had to march back to base for their lunch after a quick word from their handlers. Alec's team didn't even get so much as a pat in the back. This was Manticore, after all.

Feeling a little jumpy, Max lagged behind for a bit, letting the sudden burst of air cool her heated face. Taking a deep breath, she groaned as her backpack slipped from her hand, spilling its content on the grass. She knelt and tried to sort her stuff quickly. As she was tossing everything haphazardly into her bag, the fine hair at the back of her neck rose. Someone was approaching.

Recalling the fact that she was among the last to leave the site and now had some ideas on the identity of the one who was about to join her, she had the wild urge to just ran off towards the others. Weird really because she was supposed to be this tough chick. But then again, he always managed to make her react differently than usual. 

__

Here goes another round of the roller coaster ride. First I can't seem to be around him without biting off his neck. Then I can't keep my hands off of him. And now I want to run as fast and as far away as possible in the opposite side.

Stupid hormones.

Max kept her eyes glued to the ground, knowing it will be quite futile if she were to bolt now. She bit her lips and waited for what the hazel eyed one had in store for her today.

Her heart started to speed up with anticipation when something thudded softly beside her. Quickly, her eyes darted to her side and she saw a headset lying on the grass. Frowning, she was about to look up when someone dropped down to a crouch beside her. She turned her head, saw the familiar glinting eyes and her own unconsciously started to shine. But she managed to keep her face neutrally blank, for the sake of anyone who weren't suppose to be there.

Alec picked up the fallen headpiece before slowly he straightened up. Max pushed the sudden wave of disappointment but a second later she felt his warm lips lightly grazing her ear. She successfully restrained the urge to shudder when he whispered something, his warm breath tickling her sensitive ear while his deep voice seemed to caress her from head to toe.

'I hate to see your hair all bound up, Maxie,' he murmured and then his agile fingers slid the elastic band off her hair gently. Instantly, her silky dark hair whisked downwards as he stood beside her.

She whipped her head towards him, a little shocked by his sudden action while her recently loosen hair was whispering against her shoulders. He just winked at her dumbfounded expression before striding off. 

Max looked around dazedly before she came to her senses, she grabbed her bag and bolted towards where Alec and the others were heading. When she was directly by his side, she matched his longer stride without trouble. Then she held out a hand, grabbed hold of his cap and took it off. At his surprise look, she held green gaze and grinned, 'So do I, Romeo. I want to see those hair of yours too.'

With the cap in hand, she ran off to join the rest of the other soldiers. When she was at the rear of the moving crowd, she stopped, whipped her head around and blew him a quick kiss before disappearing into the throng of bodies.

Alec laughed at the apparent cheek in her eyes before he resumed his walking, his fingers were playing with Max's elastic band almost absent mindedly.

*

__

10 weeks later.

A smartly dressed young woman walked briskly along the crowded corridor, her arms were heavily laden with legal documents and other papers. Her dark hair was pulled back in a neat bun at the nape, her navy three-piece suit was a perfect fit and her wire rimmed glasses gave her the air of intelligence. The ID that was hanging from her jacket told us that her name was Lana Farrell.

Lana continued to move through the bustling hallway before entering a small office. She dumped the papers unceremoniously onto her desk with a loud groan.

'The boss is piling on the work luv?' 

Lana turned and saw a haggard looking woman was leaning against the open door. Despite the tired air surrounding her, she possessed a pair of clear and sharp eyes. And a very cheerful British accent.

'He hates me,' Lana muttered as she tried to shuffle the documents back into some semblance of order, 'and the feeling's mutual.'

'For what it's worth, if ol' Bennett didn't trust you, you won't be one of our representatives for the MediCorp / Pharmatech merger. And it was less than three month since you started to work here too.'

'I know Mariah, that's what I've been telling myself when he decided that he didn't want me to have a life outside of this damn office.' She pursed her lips, scrunched her face up to imitate her boss and proceed to mimic his earlier orders, 'I want this contract drawn out before 3.30 today, and what about those propositions? I don't want to meet that company's Board of Directors empty handed. While you're at it, take a look at my speech will you? Try writing something that won't send people off to sleep within seconds of hearing it.'

Lana put a hand over her face, 'Ugh, I was supposed to supervise the merger, _only_ the merger but now I understand how his assistants feel.'

'Aww my poor lamb,' Mariah crooned and stepped into Lana's office. She perched a hip against the table and gently reminded the young woman, 'But he _is _MediCorp's CEO. He's the big boss around here.'

'Exactly! And that means he has his _own _assistants to bully. Why me?'

'Cheer up luv. You know, you must be his most favorite employee right now. No one has been able to get the two CEOs together at the same meeting for the last ten years, except you that is.'

'Or the _least _favorite,' Lana answered with a shrug, 'Bennett loathes everyone who even had a remote connection to Pharmatech, _especially _the said CEO. Makes me wonder why he even considering a merger in the first place.'

Mariah nodded knowingly, 'A good businessman never let his emotions cloud his business decisions. This merger is much needed.. for both parties.'

'Yeah, the usual reason. We have a number of breakthrough researches but no money to market it while Pharmatech has the money to spare but nothing to spend it on.'

'True luv. But I just have to say I'm taking my hat off to you. You've done the impossible by pulling off the merger of the century,' Mariah beamed cheerily. 

'Well, maybe someone on their side managed to turn Pharmatech's CEO into an agreeable old man,' Lana said without much interest as she continued with the shuffling.

__

After all a mission was a mission. And failure was not an option. 

The older woman burst out laughing, 'That stubborn ol' geezer? Who ever did that must've had charm and persistence pouring out from his ears.'

__

Oh yeah, that he did. The younger girl thought broodingly.

Seeing the sulky look that flitted over her officemate's face, Mariah smiled broadly. 'Trouble in paradise? Your man hadn't kept his end of the deal and didn't call you yet?'

Lana was about to agree when her eyes snapped upward. 'He is _not _my man! In fact, I don't _have _a man,' she answered heatedly. 'You're fishing but there's nothing to find here,' she replied primly.

'Yeah yeah, and I build that Stonehedge with my bare hands and stowed a goblin in my closet. Catch you later luv,' with a cheery wave, Mariah left the office.

Max groaned and flopped into her chair, burrowing her face into her arms.

__

Damn, damn, damn! Damn you Alec! 

I do not _miss him. He was just an incredibly annoying jerk who annoys the hell outta me. That's what he is, a pain in the ass. _

Ugh, who am I kidding? Being sent in as his sister might be less nerve wrecking than not seeing him at all.

She sighed wistfully and stared at the open window with unseeing eyes. _I wonder what he's doing right now.. _

__

To be continued..


	14. chapter 14

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: Max and the others failed in their mission to blow up the DNA lab and in the process she was recaptured. After months of being submitted to the torturous Psy-ops, she was sent to a new unit and her CO was none other than X5494. The unit was then sent on their first mission, a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story started to enfold..

* * *

Hey all. Just to let you know, there's another version of this chap with a higher rating posted at the boards (NWP, GBM and TAS) since you all know how ff disallowed NC17s. If you're interested, just go there ;) And if for some reason you have no idea where these boards are, just go to my profile and go from there. Lastly, where I would be without my beta, Maia. She's just great :)

Happy Reading!!

* * *

Chapter Fourteen.

'One quick question Lana, are you up for a couple of hours of frolicking in a crowded public hangout, drink yourself into a stupor and at the same time try to have the time of your life with ya mates?' the woman shrugged at Lana's questioning look. 'So, I'm in desperate need to let loose some steam, who doesn't if they're working here? What do you say to my perfect plan for this evening?'

Without even lifting her head Max answered, 'Yeah sure _but_ after I'm done with all of this. Check back with me in.. I don't know,' she glanced at the waiting woman at the doorway before gesturing at the piled up papers littering her desk, 'another lifetime probably?'

Mariah burst out laughing and shook her head. 'All work and no play makes Lana a very dull girl.'

'Tell me about it,' the brunette grumbled under her breath, 'but then again, whose fault would that be if the said Lana is slowly but surely evolving into that?'

'You need to loosen up a bit dearie, after all there _is_ a silver lining in every cloud ya know.'

'Well, then the silver in _this_ cloud has turned invisible or something because I can't find it,' Max leaned back in her chair with a mutinous expression.

Instantly Mariah pushed the door wider open and walked quickly inside. 'Are you sure you're okay Lana? If Bennet's giving you more work than you can handle, you should talk to him about that.'

'I'm fine, I really am. It's just one of those days when you just _have_ to do a little bitching,' Max said with a wave of a hand. 'It's nothing I can't handle.'

_Not so long ago, Alec had been the perfect target to pour all of her dissatisfaction on. The exercise had been too long and demanding for her liking; she'd find some way to pin it on him. If the drill sergeant seemed to find faults with her every few seconds, he probably had something to do with it._

Max sighed, life was less complicated back then when denial was such a bosom buddy.

'So, how about my earlier invitation?' Mariah said with a smile. 'The offer is still standing.'

'Nah, you guys go and have a great time. I need to finish this before I can even _think _of going home.'

'Are you sure about this?'

'Positive. I'll see you tomorrow then,' with a small smile Max stretched her tense neck muscles for a bit and watched silently as Mariah left her office.

After the door was closed, Max stood with a heavy sigh and turned towards the small window behind her crowded desk. Tugging at the white shirt a little, she smoothened her dark skirt and walked towards the window. The mid thigh pencil skirt whisked softly against her long legs with every stride. She leaned her body slightly against the sill, looking out into the crowded street below and slowly she let her thoughts ran free while her eyes roamed the scene laid out in front of her.

This place had been as demolished and crippled as Seattle had been but for some reason here the despair and misery that ran as the undercurrent in the daily life of the citizens of Seattle were blessedly absent. The people here were.. calmer, as if they had accepted what the Pulse had brought along in its wake as something that couldn't be avoided and had learned to live with it.

Max continued to watch the crowd below her, everyone seemed so busy as they hurried to their destinations. Most of them, to their home where a loving family and a warm fire was waiting for their arrival.

Unconsciously, Max chewed on her lips while the feeling that she was all alone in this godforsaken place mounted considerably. She threw a quick glance at the messy work table and snorted. _Since when did I start listening to the others? Never did with __Normal__ and as for Renfro, defying her as long as I could get away with it was the phrase of choice._

'That's it, I'm outta here.' Tossing a disdainful look at the pile of work, Max grabbed her jacket and closed the door with a loud bang. A few minutes later she disappeared quickly into the throng of people.

* * *

Max threw a crestfallen look around the fully packed place. This pub was way too crowded for her taste right now.

'Hey, watch it!' she snapped after someone nearly plowed him or herself into her. But no one was listening over the noise and the blaring music.

_You've made the wrong choice tonight Maxie,_ she groaned to herself when another elbow made a rather forceful contact with her ribs.

This was not the place to relax; this was a damn battle field.

And being the genetically enhanced super-soldier that she was, she knew what she was talking about.

She tried to backtrack, but the jostling crowd just pushed her further into the room. Twisting around, again she tried to escape but suddenly someone called out, 'And the last one, that lil lady in navy coat and hat.'

Max froze; she _was_ wearing a dark blue jacket. And a felt hat that had hidden her dark tresses from view. No, he must've been talking about someone else. She pushed harder, not wanting to be in this place a second more if she had to, but the voice boomed out again.

'Aw she's a shy one! Come on folks, give her a hand!'

The crowd around her burst out laughing and suddenly Max felt numerous hands tugging, pulling and pushing her forward.

'What the..' she managed to say before she was plucked out unceremoniously from the mass of people and deposited none too gently on the high platform that almost resembled a stage.

Quickly Max stared around her, noting the fact that a few other women that were strutting around the raised stage, much to the delight of the packed males surrounding the stand. Also for the first time, she was aware of the hot lustful looks the men were giving the number of women around her, herself included.

_Dammit__, what have I gotten myself into this time?_

After throwing a quick look around her, she noticed whom she thought would be the one in charge. Striding towards him, she ignored the loud hooting and waited till the man's attention was on her. These men had started to get on her nerve.

Just wait till she could get her hands on their scrawny necks. Death would be a walk in the park compared to what she had in mind right now.

'Look sir, there must've been some mistake or something coz I'm not suppose to be here,' she said in a polite voice, plastering a fake smile on her stiff face. 'Can I go now?'

'Whad'ya mean you're not suppose to be here? You're standing here, arent'cha?' the man answered, turning around before frowning into her face.

'I mean, I have to go.'

'But why? The auction's gonna start in a sec.'

'Auction?' she parroted back. 'There's gonna be an _auction_ here? What auction?'

An auction in a club? What were they gonna sell anyway? Pre-pulse whisky and scotch? And what had any of it got to do with her?

He grinned knowingly, 'You know how every Thursday we choose a few of our female patrons and auction them off to our male customers. After that, it's up to the couple on how they want to spend their night. This auction.. it's getting to be our tradition or sumthing by now.'

'What?' she asked wide eyed, horrified by what she had just heard. 'That's sick!'

'Nah, why would it?' he shrugged, 'Everyone's happy so there's no harm that I can see. If you don't want to do this, then the next million dollar question would be, why are you here in the first place?'

'I'm leaving,' she said forcefully, ready to spin on her heels and march off.

'You've been picked lassie,' he said and Max gasped when a strong hand latched itself on her arm. 'You can't leave.'

'This is not the middle ages,' she argued angrily, waving her free hand around in her preoccupation, 'you can't just.. auction people off like that.'

'Half the bid goes to you and the other half is reserved for the establishment,' he explained, unhurried and unperturbed by her murderous expression. '_And _you get to have a really good night. Who wouldn't want that?'

'Another word that comes to mind.. prostitution,' she said tightly.

'Look at it this way, you're helping me to expand my business so it's like charity, you know? And people do this all the time for charity,' he looked down at her from his massive height. 'And we're helping you to get a date. You scratch my back and I scratch yours. Everyone's happy. End of story.'

'Except there's one very _unhappy _person standing right in front of you right now,' she pointed out with a clench of her jaw.

'You won't be for long,' he answered with a wink before striding to the middle of the stage where he shouted. 'Let the fun start!'

Amidst the excited cry from the male customers, the big man turned to Max. 'Let's welcome our first participant for tonight's auction!'

Someone pushed her forcefully and she stumbled a few feet forward, startled by the sudden action. The rowdy crowd roared their approval and the man beside her beamed.

'Why don't we give her a taste of our warm greeting?' he shouted to the crowd and they almost screamed the house down in excitement.

'What's your name girl?' he asked quickly, taking hold of her upper arm in his tight grip as he hauled her nearer.

'Go to hell,' she whispered back angrily.

'Grace!' he bellowed to the raucous males. 'Give it up for Graaaace!'

Again, the men showed her their warmer side and the temperature in the room pitched a couple of degrees more.

'Sooo,' the man next to her help up a hand and the crowd went quiet instantly, 'who wants to open the bid for the lovely and engaging Grace?'

'100 bucks,' the man in front of them shouted quickly.

'Is that all you think she's worth? Come on folks, you can see she's a spitfire!'

'Two hundred!'

'Two fifty!'

'Four hundred!'

'No, five fifty!'

'Now we're talking boys,' he grinned, 'any more bids?'

'I'll make it seven hundred if she's a blond!' someone yelled from the back and Max felt the first twinges of fear when the big man beside her perked up instantly. Quickly, he whipped her black felt hat away and instantly her freed dark hair cascaded down her back.

'Damn,' he held his hand apart, 'but what a fine lookin' brunette she is! Come on man, you know you want this hot girl to warm your side.'

'Two thousand dollars.'

As one, Max and the man whipped their head to the last bidder who had topped the price in a casual, offhand voice.

'Going once, going twice,' he looked around the room but there wasn't anyone to counter the last bid. 'Sold! To the man at the back in the dark leather jacket.'

Max's eyes widened when the man who had practically bought her strode forward. The lighting had been too dim earlier for her to see his features but when he stepped into the pool of light, she gasped at the familiar glinting eyes she saw.

The same hazel eyes that were imprinted into her memory.

Alec's eyes.

Her breath quickened imperceptibly when she caught sight of the possessive look lurking in the depth of his eyes. She didn't even notice that the man had pulled her down the stage to meet Alec.

'There you go lad,' the man said with a wink, 'I hope she's worth every dollar.'

The trademark smirk appeared. 'I don't doubt that for a second.'

'Stevie will get to you on the payment. Hope you have a great time with lil Grace here.' With that, he turned around and gestured at the next girl. 'Aaanndd, here's the next one!'

As the commotion threatened to burst an eardrum or two, Alec pulled her to the back of the room where it was somewhat quieter.

'Grace?' he asked laughingly, turning slightly to face her while he tugged at her hand lightly to lead them further back for some much needed privacy. 'You told him your name is Grace?'

Max planted her feet securely, refusing to move and he dropped her hand. She fought the sudden feeling of loss and glared at him, venting her ire at the first available target. Him.

'No, I did _not _tell him that my name' was Grace. That was something he made up at the spur of the moment.'

'Well, he sure picked something that suits you to perfection,' he replied dryly, noting the flames of anger dancing in her eyes.

'What are you doing here anyway?' she changed the topic quickly. It was very hard to remain angry for long when he was looking at her like that.

'The same reason _you _are here?' he replied with a shrug.

'To bid on some helpless women?'

'Hmm you're going to do a little bidding too?' he winked cheekily. 'And let me refresh your memory, I'm not the one who was almost sold not five minutes ago.'

'I can take care of myself,' she answered grouchily, pouting a bit. 'There's no need for you to get on the whole white knight routine thingy.'

'What are you gonna do, fight a roomful of men who are practically ready for a stampede?'

'As I said, I can take care of myself.' She glared at him.

'Whatever,' he shrugged, looking around him with mock interest. Looking everywhere except at the spot where she was standing.

'So, what now?' she said a little hesitantly.

He wrapped his arms around his chest, looking down at her with an arched brow.

Max sighed, shoved the need to roll her eyes and almost cracked a grin at his look. He looked like a sulking little boy. And he did it adorably. 'Listen, I'm sorry okay? For snapping at you when you were being so gallant and all.'

'That's more like it,' the full lips quirked into a smug smile and her heart picked up speed in response. 'But, can you repeat that again? I don't think I hear it _correctly _the first time around.'

'No way, it's a one in a lifetime thing.' Max grinned and moved past him before sending him a quick glance. 'Are you coming?'

'You can bet on that,' he answered instantly and his longer stride quickly closed the gap between them. When he was directly next to her, he slipped his hand into hers, grasping the small soft hand securely in his much larger one.

Max gasped at the unforeseen move but at his questioning look, the surprise in her eyes was quickly replaced by an impish grin. His smile widened when she tightened her hold. When they made it to the back of the room, he cornered her.

'So Maxie, did you miss me?' he asked huskily, spinning her around before he pinned her to the wall with his hard body. He lifted their joined hands and placed them on her shoulder, fusing their two bodies together.

'In your dreams pretty boy,' Max answered with a laugh, already running her hand over his well memorized chest.

'The same recurring dream where you're waiting on my bed; eyes smoky with your need, your body throbbing with desire? Wanting me, needing only.. me?' his lips hovered a heartbeat away from hers and she shuddered at the heat flashing in his words.

'Yeah, I think that's the one,' she whispered breathlessly back, her arms were already around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Alec nipped her lower lips lightly, grinning at her sudden breath intake. His hands moved to her back, caressing the soft slope of her spine and she arched in response. He almost groaned at the feel of her and when her warm tongue started its exploration, he pressed her harder against the wall and let the weeks worth of emotion take control.

She parted the dark leather of his jacket apart, pushing it off of his broad shoulders and Alec complied as he shrugged it off, tossing it onto a nearby chair. Suddenly, Max broke their kiss and stared wide eyed at him.

'Whoa,' she managed to gasp even when he was driving her mad with whatever he was doing to her ear, 'nice turtleneck.'

But nice was certainly the understatement of the century. The dark cashmere sweater molded over his perfect physique like an attentive lover, enfolding every plane of his muscular torso impeccably. Boy, she certainly wouldn't look at turtlenecks the same way again. Ever.

His amused eyes sought out hers, 'We're talking about clothes? When there are so many _exciting _things we can do right now?'

To prove his point, he skimmed his hand under her white shirt. Max swallowed hard when his fingers brushed enticingly against her skin, just below her throbbing breast.

'I..' her head fell back when slowly and leisurely he kissed her just below the jaw, where her heartbeat could be seen fluttering like a frantic bird. 'I.. I..' _What was it she had wanted to say? _Her hand clutched his sweater tightly when he ran his moist lips lightly over the sensitive spot.

He lifted his head unhurriedly. 'You were saying?'

Max just arched a blasé brow even though she was having a bit of a hard time in the breathing area. 'You want us to talk when there are so many _exciting_ thing we can do?' _Right back at'cha._

As she answered him, she ran her fingers over the hard line of his jaw while her thumb was stroking the edge of his lips lightly. His lips parted and his warm breath kissed her fingertips. She slid her fingers lower as she pushed the fabric aside, to the base of his neck and slowly she caressed the skin where his barcode was.

Unable to answer, his lids fluttered close at the overwhelming sensation and Max leaned closer, so that she could be intimately introduced to certain parts of this mouth-watering man, namely his full shapely lips. Speaking about mouth watering, those puckers were something you definitely would want on you. On every part of your skin he can get his lips on. She kissed him deeply, sliding instantly through the parted lips and she felt him groan in response.

Framing his face, she tried to slide her hand downwards but the heavy cloth denied her the access.

'I take it back,' she whispered gruffly, 'this is _not _a good time to wear a turtleneck.'

'But a perfectly well suited moment for a skirt,' he responded, hiking her skirt a few inches higher. 'You look incredibly sexy,' his hand moved leisurely over her thigh, while his mouth continued to move on hers, 'in skirts.'

A second later, he pulled back with a groan, panting hard. 'We have to go Max, before things get out of hand.'

She nodded, breathing a bit heavily. 'Definitely. So, your place or mine?'

He was silent for a while, 'Yours.'

Again, she nodded. 'Okay then, let's go.'

'Listen Max,' he caught hold of her hand, stopping her in mid stride. 'You go right ahead, I'll be right behind you.'

Max frowned, but seeing the look in his eyes, realization shot through. 'Manticore.'

'Yeah, they split us up for a reason. It wouldn't do if they find out that we've made contact. Intimate contact too,' he explained with a wicked glint in his eyes.

Max didn't know whether to laugh, be annoyed or just to roll her eyes at his flippant answer. She settled for the former. 'Today must've been your lucky day then Romeo.'

'Or yours,' he winked, 'anyway there's something I you to have.'

'For me? What is it?' she asked with suddenly bright eyes. _A gift?__ No one had ever given her a gift before._

'All in due time Maxie. Be patient,' he clucked his tongue paternally at her outburst.

She turned on her heels and marched ahead, giving him a careless wave, 'Don't take your own sweet time, we don't have all night.'

He burst out laughing. 'Yeah yeah, whatever you say, babe.'

Max was already halfway home when she realized something earth shattering.

She didn't give him her address.

Damn.

* * *

She slammed the door behind her loudly, not caring that she might awaken the whole block. Who cared about that when she'd just made the worse blunder in world history? Max groaned as she plopped herself onto the couch, feeling the stuffing settled itself comfortably around her. But right now, comfort was the last thing on her mind.

_I guess now I know how those pre-pulse teens felt when they didn't get to give that hot guy their number. _

She scooted down, her legs were swung over the arm rest, dejected with what had happened. Looking like a morose rose draped over the couch, she blew a heavy breath. Slowly she pushed herself upwards before grabbing one of the stuffed pillows scattered on the couch. She stood, and with the pillow in hand she started pacing the length of her small living room. Her restless hand twisted and squeezed the poor thing almost unconsciously as her feet moved.

_After 10 weeks, he finally appears. And I literally walked away from him. _

_Gee Max, what a smart, smart move._

She sighed and raked her hair back with one hand, admitting the fact she had never wanted to acknowledge. When he was around her, he turned her world upside down just mere seconds after being within reach.

Or when he was within kissing distance.

Max growled and wrung the stuffed pillow as a show of temper when suddenly she stiffened. Someone was there. She spun around and her breath was instantly stuck painfully in her constricted throat.

He was leaning against the doorframe, not doing anything, just staring at the waiting girl. Max shuffled for a bit, darting him nervous glances from beneath her lowered lids. The stuffed pillow in her hand was squeezed out of shape.

'How.. how did you get here?'

He just shook his head at her dumbfounded expression. 'It's one of those advantages of being a trained super-soldier,' he shrugged casually. 'A piece of cake and Max,' his lips quirked into an undeniably sexy smile, 'I never thought of you as the domestic type.' He nodded at the pillow in her hands.

She forced herself to put it down slowly, trying to give the impression that she had her frantic heartbeat under perfect control. But of course, illusion was the perfect tool on most circumstances.

'There's a lot you don't know about me, Alec,' she said in a straight face, after she had turned to face him.

'Wanna help me with that?' with an arch of his brow, he asked.

Max stared hard at him, a knowing glint in her dark eyes, 'If you're up for it.'

Alec bit his lower lip at the invitation in her eyes and slowly he unfurled himself from his relaxed posture. His hand delved into the pocket of his dark jeans before he slowly drew it out. Walking towards her, he smiled, 'I'm always ready Maxie. But before that, like I said earlier I want you have something.'

Max's eyes flicked to his outstretched hand and her heart almost stopped beating when he flipped the small box open. Nestled against the dark blue velvet was a necklace. It was simple really, a thin chain made from white gold but a small square cut ruby was hanging from it.

_Simple my ass_, it was gorgeous as hell. It was one of those things that didn't have to be elaborate to be considered beautiful.

Max gasped, her hand fluttered unconsciously to her throat as she lifted her head towards his.

'What's this for?' she asked breathlessly, admiring the way the overhead light was stroking the fire within the red stone.

He just shrugged, but his eyes told her he was as pleased as she was. 'Nothing, I just thought you'd like it. Well.. maybe something to remember me by, when you miss me too much.'

He lifted the necklace off the soft velvet and walked behind her, lifting the hair from her shoulders with his light hand. Max suppressed a shudder when she felt the warm breath whispering against her neck and she leaned her body slightly against him. Alec did the clasp with unsteady hands; her scent was swirling around him in the most tantalizing manner. After the clasp was done, he arranged the necklace, feeling the smooth soft skin underneath his hand.

The exposed slope of her slender neck enticed him immensely and he quickly pressed his lips against the creamy skin. Max sighed and pressed her body closer towards him, bringing herself to an intimate contact with the hard planes of his body.

Alec wrapped his arms tighter around her but suddenly she pulled away. He lifted his head in surprise and stared at her, breathing hard. Max bit her lips playfully, pulling him to the nearby couch. She pushed him backwards and smiled, the heat of passion was already flaming in her eyes.

Settling one knee on the couch by his thigh, she put one hand on his shoulder and moved to straddle him. The hand lying on his shoulder started playing with the soft hair at his neck.

Alec grinned, leaning back before settling himself comfortably against the couch. His hand made its way to her hip, after a long slow torturous journey over her shapely thigh. He tugged the shirt from her skirt, sliding his hand in.

'This is more like it.' With an evil smile, she leaned down towards his waiting lips.

* * *

'What do you mean you've lost 494's location? That's impossible, what happened to his implant? That thing should be telling us _exactly _where he is.'

'Well, apparently it screwed up,' the other tech just moved his shoulders indifferently; his fingers were flying over the keyboard as he tried to ascertain of the missing X5's whereabouts. 'Judging by the last data transmitted, he's still within reach so maybe the circuit fried, who knows. I can't say til I get a hold of it.

'Damn. This is not good.'

'Don't freak out just yet,' the busy man gave his partner a quick glance. 'We'll wait till he's here for the daily report in the morning.'

'And if he doesn't make it?'

'Then it'll be time to alert the big boss.'

* * *

In the crowded and bustling pub, one hand lifted Alec's jacket, caressing the black leather almost reverently.

_So, he's been here. I wonder where he is right now.._

_To be continued.._


	15. chapter 15

Title: into the wild

Author: sue

Rating: PG13

Show: DA

Pairing: M/A

Genre: Romance/Adventure

Type: WiP

Summary: Max and the others failed in their mission to blow up the DNA lab and in the process she was recaptured. After months of being submitted to the torturous Psy-ops, she was sent to a new unit and her CO was none other than X5494. The unit was then sent on their first mission, a retrieval ops in a jungle. Then, the story started to enfold..

A/N- Hey guys! I'm soo sorry about the long wait between chapters. I have no explanation except that it kinda slipped my mind. Sorry!

Someone posted that it has been like half a year since I last updated and I was like 'huh? Has it been _that _long?' And that was like a couple of months ago. Ooops heheh

But fear not! The next chapter is almost done, there's only one teensy bitsy part left before it's all done. But, I do want to apologize for the lateness in updating, and also for the fact that this chap is kinda short. Wait, did I say that the next chap is almost done :)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 15**

_His lips had not even reached her skin and yet she tossed fitfully, her tapered nails almost tearing the sheet apart. That was the sheer power of anticipation, waiting desperately for the explosion of senses caused by his one move. She arched her back; one name was planted deep within her throat._

_'Alec!'_

Max opened her eyes with a start, her breathing laboured. She shot upwards, sweat was running down her body and she put her heavy head on her raised knees, feeling her heart racing towards an unknown goal. When she moaned, her leg muffled her voice to an unintelligible whimper.

'God, what a dream.' She ran a clammy hand over her heated face, feeling the blood rushing furiously through her veins. Max blinked as her eyes started to get used to the darkness, and she frowned at the still form all tangled up in her sheets.

Lying beside her, his face bathed in the soft moonlight was the epiphany of her dreams, the devil stalking her waking hours.

_So, that was not a dream._

A smile flitted over her lips and she chewed on her lower lips lightly as she stared at the sleeping man. Max wrapped her hands around her knees before perching her chin on them, gazing hungrily at the firm lines of his body.

A gust of wind flew through the open window and Alec turned in his sleep, his brow furring at the sudden cold. He groaned and buried his face deeply into her pillows. Her heart melted at the unconscious gesture and she leaned forward and tugged the blanket slowly to cover his body.

Feeling wide eyed, no thanks to her shark DNA, Max debated for a second whether to stay or not. On one hand, she could spend the night snuggled up to his side... or she could wake him up after a few minutes. It wouldn't be a mystery or a surprise what would happen next. But on the other side of the platter, he needed his rest. She frowned as she noted some fine lines around his eyes.

With another reluctant glance his way, she climbed out of bed carefully. Let him sleep for a couple more hours, she needed to get some air anyway. Max grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a matching shirt before she quickly dressed herself. A few moments later, she stood by the bed, looking down at his half-concealed face. She sat carefully on the bed and slowly she touched his cheek with her lips.

'I'll be right back,' she whispered.

Max tiptoed out of the room; and Alec slept on, surrounded by the soft smell of her.

* * *

Climbing the stairs, Max tugged at the baggy clothing tighter around her small frame. She chewed on her lips and grinned. Did she have a hell blazing night that rocked the Richter scale? Definitely. Hell, it was more than that.

Max almost skipped on the last few steps before pushing the door opened, revealing a deserted rooftop. No one ever came here, for some reason or another. That she knew for a fact because she had never ran into a soul while she was up here.

Max walked to the edge of the rooftop, standing precariously at the rim. She didn't give the wall-like structure behind her more than a glance, it had always been there and she supposed it would stay on for a while. This place was no Space Needle, but over the weeks she had become somewhat attached to it. With a smile still hovering over her lips, she wrapped her arms around herself, relishing in the sweet past.

The funny thing was, whenever he appeared within sight, she was turned into a blushing schoolgirl who always giggled way too much. God knew how hard she tried to hide it but it didn't always work. Much like now. It was a good thing she was alone at the moment.

Max resisted the urge to stand on one foot and twirl around, straight out of some pre-pulse chick flick she had been forced to watch some time back. Something OC had deemed essential on the girls bonding ritual she always threw after the heartbreaking event of breaking up with one of her honeys.

Max just laughed at the thought of her doing just that, twirling around in leather pants and jacket. That would be one horrifying sight. A good thing she still had her brain intact.. Even after the Alec-invasion. The thought of him sobered her. With a loud sigh, she flopped down on the cold slab of concrete and not caring about the sharp drop that awaited, she moved to the edge and sat with her feet dangling.

The night wind moved through her dark tresses and Max tilted her head back, enjoying the sensation. She used to treasure moments like this, her little Max-time; a cocoon of safety amidst the chaos around her. Watching the oblivious ordinaries scurrying around on their daily chores, she could almost forget the fact that she was not one of them, technically speaking.

She looked at the deserted scene down below, and right that moment, she felt as far away from Manticore as she possibly could. Sure, the absence of scowling drill sergeants was a great help but for some reason, sitting here so high up above the ground, she could sense.. freedom.

No responsibilities, no worries, no stress.

Although, even when she had to report in every other day to her handler, she had never felt as Manticore-less as she did right now.

Max scowled and flipped her hair off her shoulder in irritation. Speaking about that damn place, what did Manticore have in mind when they had decided it was in the best interest of the mission to split Alec and her up? Here she was, stuck with playing Lana-the-overworked-and-Bennet's-personal-slave-Farrell while Alec was off doing.. whatever he was ordered to do. For all she knew, he could be deployed to the other side of the world. She had such high hopes for this mission and the above obstacles were not in the plan.

The last ten weeks, she had been more preoccupied with the missing Alec than thinking about anything else.. even if it involved her future escape. Only the Blue Lady knew how much, how desperately she yearned to disentangle herself from the shackle Manticore had forcefully forged on her, but somehow, he had distracted her from something as important to her as her escape plans. And he did that without being anywhere near her.

_That would be just like him,_ she thought with a roll of her eyes. She was too busy scowling over his absence to plot over her escape. Ah well, she shrugged it aside, there was always time for retribution. After all, you can always count on karma to take a bite from that hunk of a body later on. Almost laughing at the scene in her head, Max pushed her hair off her neck and swung her legs a little.

But the truth was, deep down.. waay deep down, she knew her reluctance to relocate was somehow tied to the fact that if she left, she might.. not see him again. Dumb.. yes. But would she admit it out loud? Never.

Well.. maybe. If she'd get enough incentive for it.. and if she could rephrase and twist it around just a little bit.

She smirked, who says Maxie is a sweet girl?

* * *

The night stars twinkled serenely, a contrasting background to the constant chaos erupting within the club. Which increased when the door crashed opened.

'No fighting inside the club!' A beefy man roared, holding two red-faced men by the collar. But the sight of the bouncer's pumped-up arms under the tight shirt did nothing to douse the two men's anger.

One of them, a short stout man with receding hairline shrugged the muscular arm away. He glared at his foe and spat, 'I'm not done with you yet, hairball.' He stared spitefully at the other man's unruly but full head of reddish hair.

The younger man laughed while the bouncer eyed both of them with his beady eyes, almost daring them to fight in his presence. The mixture of alcohol and adrenaline was never a good match as the other man rose to the bait.

'Whoever invented 'as bald as a baby' must've never met you personally. Any mother would've drowned herself if she had a baby that looks like you,' he answered almost gleefully.

Baldy rushed forward but the bouncer was quicker. He grabbed the furious man and growled, 'I said no fighting inside the club!' he pushed them both onto the dimly lit back alley and slammed the door closed.

'That was all your fault Trev,' the bald one grumbled, shooting the other man ire filled glances.

'Will you just shut up?' Trevor growled, 'If you didn't happen to butt in at the exact moment you did, Dave, I would've landed that hot as hell broad.'

'You flatter yourself,' Dave answered with a snort, brushing his wrinkled shirt into some semblance of order. The night was still young after all, he might still get lucky. 'Women prefer my baby soft complexion.'

'Right,' Trevor stared pointedly at the sparse hair covering Dave's head, 'but too bad you're not as adorable as one.'

Dave's eyes lit up in anger, 'What did you say?'

'You heard me, _baldy.' _Trevor straightened himself as he got ready for another round. Both of them were so lost in their own impending fight that they failed to notice a shadow, moving silently as one, slip noiselessly past them.

At the time Trevor was aiming a right uppercut, a cab screeched to a halt, and while Dave was wiping his bloody lips, someone slid onto the worn seat. The beaten up taxi surged forward while Dave lunged towards Trevor, his fist flying towards his opponent's face. The passenger leaned backwards; a pleased smile was firmly in place.

Moving ahead, the cab turned right and joined the other numerous cars cruising along the brightly lit road. Rays from the scattered street lamps illuminated the dark clothing laid over the person's lap.. and the fingers that were moving over the leathery texture almost unconsciously.

_I have you now, 494. There is nowhere to run._

_Not from me._

* * *

Alec stepped onto the last rung and stopped, his nose almost touching the cold metal door as he strained his ears for any sound of her. Hearing nothing, he chewed on the pad of his thumb, feeling the way his teeth scraped over the flesh, uncertain of his next move. Strands of unruly hair fell across his furrowed forehead as he mulled over his options.

Less than ten minutes ago, he had woken up slowly in her bed, a first for him; he even had the luxury of stretching out his well-used muscles. Thinking about his last activity in the last couple of hours, he turned, fully expecting her to snuggle somewhere close by. His eyes and his hand came across the answer at the same time. His fingers landed on the crumpled sheet while his suddenly clear eyes saw the empty space beside him.

She was not in the room.. or anywhere in the apartment, judging by the pregnant silence engulfing him and everything in sight.

He had shot up in alarm, looking around the vacant space around him with something akin to terror. She hasn't left in the middle of the night, has she? Wait a second, he frowned as a more rational piece of theory hit him, this place _belongs_ to her. You can't just dash off from your own home like that, now can you?

But this was Max, so anything was possible. Although, he could have sworn she'd rather kick his ass out rather than doing the disappearing act herself. But again, this was Max: The same girl who had publicly shunned him at their last mission, before kissing him senseless in a monitored hallway at Manticore.

Get yourself under control soldier, she can't be far. Alec took a deep breath and jumped out of bed, grabbing his jeans in a hurry. He growled, his frustration apparent as he tossed Max's scattered clothing in search of his sweater but the damn thing eluded him.

As precious minutes ticked by, he threw his hands up and dashed through the front door, clad only in his jeans. He would rather be shirtless than slip into one of Max's tops. That would be plain disgusting. Especially the one in that girly shade of pastel pink he just threw aside not five minutes ago.

Alec shuddered, more from masculine revulsion than from the cold caused by the chilly air. He had trudged across the hallway before he was stopped in his track by a thought.

Free. She would be somewhere where she could feel free.. be free.

He refused to think of what exactly and started to look for a way to the roof. For a building like this, the roof should be nicely flat.. and high up above the ground. And then, there he was.

Alec took one big gulp of air before pushing the door open. It creaked horribly and the sound crawled up and down his spine. An icy waft of air blasted over his exposed torso but he didn't feel a thing.

Because all the way across, almost hidden from his view, he caught sight of a flutter of dark hair dancing in the wind. A relieved grin replaced his formerly worried frown and he strode forward, noticing a roughly four feet wall that had concealed her from sight before.

That square structure was filled with soil and wild flowers grew in abundance on top of it. Some of the branches also spilled downwards, framing the harsh structure with its flimsy beauty. He almost chuckled out loud when he saw her profile peeping from between fragile stalks and tender petals.

His Maxie and flowers; not a combination he would've thought of but seeing it with his own two eyes, he could only smile at the scene in front of him. The bright hazel eyes wandered around, noting the sparse area, devoid of anything except the occasional objects scattered all over the place. Bricks, broken pieces of furniture, rusting parts from wrecked machineries and old household items were some of the examples. His feet stepped assuredly over the floor, as silent as a predator stalking his prey.

_To be continued._

_And I do mean soon!_


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **I apologize for not updating sooner (totally ignoring the three year gap between the last update heh). I know I told you guys at the end of last chapter that this chapter should be soon but then stuff happens. My computer crashed, wiping my hard drive and I assume this chapter was gone along with everything else. I cried at that time because I didn't have a word on back-up and I didn't feel like rewriting 2000+ words again.

Then, last month or so, I was going through my old files and I find my WIP Chapter 15. Just for the sake of nostalgia, I opened it and whadya know, the part I thought was lost forever was there, at the end of chapter 15 *happy dance* I had forgotten I didn't erased it from my chapter 15 file. So, there you go. Blame my lack of update on my scratchy memory!

I edited some stuff, throw out some, add something else and I hope you all like this :) Now, I have to go and see if my muse wants to write angst. Between Love and Hate desperately needs an update.

Song lyrics is from Jessica Simpson – Irresistible.

**A/N 2: **For Lynn cuz she found a new way to make me update. Sneaky girl :P

**Beta: **The awesomeness that is Alexis helps me to make this chapter shinier than a Christmas ornament *huggles*

**Warning: **Very M+ish because of some rainy goodness :)

**Quick Recap: **Just because I'm nice and everything, I'll summarize what had happened in the last fifteen chaps so that you don't have to slug through the whole thing again. (I'm not saying you shouldn't, be my guess if you want to! *winks*)

Max, Zack and the others didn't get to blow up the DNA database so Manticore was never burnt down. She was recaptured, got Zack's heart and after Reindroc and PsyOps, she was put in 494's unit and was sent deep in the jungle for a mission. Sparks (and fury) fly and 494 distracted her enough so she didn't get to run when they were out in the field. Plus, he was shot and Maxie has to channel her Florence Nightingale persona to patch him up (cuz it was her fault he got shot anyway). After much flirting and other things in the hallway of Manticore, they were both sent on another mission but they were separated.

Max was stuck as an assistant to MediCorp's CEO, Mr Bennet (I wrote this dude almost four years ago, so I think he didn't have anything in common with Claire's dad in Heroes haha) who was a pain in her transgenic ass. Alec was stationed in another company, Pharmatech. For some reason, Manticore wanted the two companies to merge and their mission plan was to see that it happens. But, the two CEOs can't stand each other but our two transgenics are able to smooth things out, all without seeing each other. However, Alec found her and they got together at her place. When he wakes up and found her missing, he went to find her. All seems well in MA Land, but apparently someone is stalking our CO. Who could it be?

* * *

**Chapter 16**

The night air blasted his face when he pushed the doors apart. The shiver was an instant reaction, the fine hairs standing at the biting cold. His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, worry crinkling the corners. Alec pushed the doors, his shoulders bunched as he braced it apart, already searching for any trace of her.

He woke up earlier and finding out that he was alone in an empty apartment sent an immediate rush of fear through his system. He knew his fear for her was foolish, as she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but he had done a lot of questionable things lately. Like trailing her whereabouts and meeting (definitely not stalking) her at the club earlier tonight. He even disabled his transmitter so his little rendezvous was not monitored by his handler.

Way to go, Alec. Whenever she was around, his brain switched gears and he started doing things he normally wouldn't even _dream_ of thinking. He had been silently stewing for the last ten weeks when as suddenly as the Director pushed Max as his partner, she did a one eighty and decided it was in the best interest of the mission to have them separated. His order was clear. Stick with Pharmatech's CEO and make sure the old geezer agreed to a merger with MediCorp. He had assumed her orders were along the same line. Divide and conquer.

He rubbed his arms as the cold started gnawing on his exposed skin, already busy searching for any sign of her. The smile that lit his eyes a second later was tinged with relief when he caught sight of her dark hair, fluttering softly in the cold. He padded silently closer to her, the smile hovering over his lips by now.

'It sure feels colder up here, huh? I'd offer you a jacket or something… but then, I'm a little bit on the under-dressed part.'

Max turned around, a bit startled by his sudden entry. Her eyes widened a bit at the man standing a few feet away and Alec gave his bare chest a quick glance before shrugging. 'Maybe even more so.'

She burst out laughing, her small frame shaking in her mirth and he grinned, striding towards her.

'What's so funny?'

The girl in front of him was laughing so hard she couldn't even speak. Alec sat beside her and tried again. 'Come on, spill!'

She laughed harder when he tickled her sensitive ribs, after he deemed that she had taken way too much time to his liking.

'Get… off!' Max sputtered, a little out of breath, batting his hands away.

'No,' his grin grew and his nimble fingers flew over her oversized shirt. 'Are you laughing at me?'

Underneath his roving hand, she twisted and turned, trying hard to get away. 'Okay! Okay… I give up,' she managed to whisper between bouts of laughter. Max scooted backwards, eyeing him before she blurted out, 'Under-dressed? If you lost another piece of clothing, you'd be naked.'

Alec chuckled at her response, watching the safe distance she had put between them, no doubt to avoid his hands. Intentionally, he turned his back on her and stood, watching the twinkling city down below. She never saw that customary glint in his eyes, the one she knew only too well. 'You know, I never noticed how an ordinary place can look so… beautiful from up here.'

Without a thought, Max nodded as she took a step forward. 'Yeah, I know.' She smiled at the familiar scene before she turned to face him, 'And what are you doing here?'

His brow rose as his hand wrapped itself around her waist, 'I thought it would be obvious.'

Max laughed while he pulled her to him, 'Yeah, you saw the empty bed and just because you like sleeping with me that much, you forgot your shirt for the repeat session?'

He turned her body flushed against his and whispered, his lips were brushing enticingly against her ear, 'Uh huh, that's one of the crucial steps to eliminate unwanted distractions.'

'By walking around half naked? Isn't _that_ distraction enough?'

He never gave her a full answer but the sight of his smile pushed the question right out of her head.

_You know I don't know what it is _

_But everything about you is so irresistible _

She sighed in satisfaction as his lips hovered over hers; his warm breath was as caressing as a warm summer breeze. Max linked her fingers through his messy hair and pulled him towards her, her skin already tingling in anticipation.

Above them, the clear night sky was slowly hidden when murky clouds blew into sight but none of that was of any importance to them. They traced each other's familiar contours with their lips and hands with slow gestures that told onlookers that they had all the time in the world.

As he tightened his hold on her, he glanced at the dark heavy clouds and the first few drops of rain before whispering, 'Come on Maxie, we should go in now. I don't want you catching a cold or something.'

'Hah! That's funny,' Max snorted, rolling her eyes heavenward. 'Who do you think is more likely to catch a cold here? A fully dressed me,' she gestured to her warm sweater, 'or a half naked you?' She bit her lower lip as an impish grin emerged. Her dark eyes started to cloud with a hint of a freshly ignited passion and she ran one finger lightly over his glistening torso, brushing the drops of water off with a few slow, languid motions.

_Don't you try and tell me that he's not my type_

_To hide what I feel inside _

_When he makes me weak with desire_

Alec watched amusedly as her finger traveled downwards. 'Not that I'm complaining or anything but honey, it's raining. We're gonna get soaked in a minute if we don't go in now.'

Around them, the wind shifted direction and the rain dropped steadily on the waiting earth.

'Then let's do something to get warm.'

_But he's irresistible _

_Up close and personal  
Now inescapable  
I can hardly breathe _

'I agree perfectly,' he smirked, his hand already clasped around her waist as he tried pushing her indoors, 'but I prefer your warm and dry bedroom.'

'Are you afraid to get wet?' she purred, her lips hovering over his pulse point, nipping softly at the skin when he didn't reply. At that moment, Max had no idea why the idea of making love to him right then and there was so compelling. In fact, the feel of the cool drops of water on her heated skin was heady as it went straight to her head and she did not want the feeling to disappear. At least not right now.

_More than just physical_

_Deeper than spiritual_

_His ways are powerful_

_And irresistible to me…_

She twisted a bit as she turned around to face him, her wet hair already plastered against her skull while her eyes were glowing as she saw the response flickering in his hazel orbs.

'No,' he only smiled, 'I guess not.'

'I thought so too.' She laid a hand on his shoulder, pulling him towards her.

Alec lifted her into his arms, claiming her full lips hungrily, sucking on the raindrops to get to the waiting flesh below. Blindly, he retraced his steps to where the spindly branches had made a thin covering on the cold floor. Hurriedly, he lowered her before falling to his knees. He scraped the tender lower lip softly with his teeth and she moaned, her leg already hooked around his hip, bringing her closer to him.

He forgot about the raindrops that were falling around them. In fact, the soft sound they made as they hit the ground was the perfect background music for the moment. The lazy thud of water seemed to compliment their fast rising passion seamlessly.

His hand cupped the back of her neck, holding her in place while he continued to feast on the sweet taste of her flavour, greedily taking what she openly offered. She made a low sound at the back of her throat as he bit her upper lip and the sound turned to a hum of pleasure after he caressed the spot with his warm wet tongue.

Her wet strands of hair whispered temptingly against his cheek as she shifted closer and his hand started to wander. He ignored the damp sweater; he was more interested in the silky skin waiting underneath. His sensitive fingers moved over her ribs, slightly tickling her and she gasped in response.

Alec almost chuckled at her reaction but in reality, he didn't have time for that. The tip of his fingers had discovered the smooth underside of her breast. As his skillful hands were sending her straight to heaven with his ministrations, Max threw her head back to fully enjoy the sensation. Alec wrapped one hand around her, supporting her pliant back with his arms as his lips moved from her jaw to her ears. He lavished the delicate area attentively, flicking through the folds.

Max hung on for dear life, her nails will undoubtedly leave some deep marks for the morning. She opened her eyes and turned towards him, watching him as he fervently licked and nipped his way across her neck. Underneath her sweater, she could feel the way his hands roamed towards her throbbing breasts. She pried one hand from his bare and wet shoulder before sliding her slick fingers down his chest.

Beneath her hands, she could feel how his heart quickened and that simple response fueled her even more so. Her blood rushed through her veins, hot and sizzling, and her fingers continued on their quest. She felt his hard muscles quiver as her hand moved over them.

The raindrops landed softly around and onto them, running down their bodies in rivulets of crystal clear water. Max touched the band of his pants, her breath rushing out through her lips in a hiss as his hot mouth fixed securely on one breast. The rough fabric rubbed huskily against her swollen flesh and the friction alone literally pushed her senses to the edge.

Her hand knotted itself at the back of his head, her fingers twisted in his wet hair. The layer of clothing between them didn't prove to be a big hindrance. Her frantic hand pushed his pants down and she locked her legs tightly around his hips.

He made a few bites, just above her breast, the area that was visible to him because of the gaping neckline as he scraped the slick skin none too gently with his teeth. Max arched her back in response, her wet hair was streaming down her back like soaked black velvet. She pushed one hand between their two bodies under his already damp pants and along his hard thigh. She continued doing that for a while, reveling in his apparent strength as she sought out his mouth again.

Instantly his tongue clashed with hers and she accepted it gladly. She moaned when she felt his nimble fingers whisper over her hips before venturing further down. His skilful hand parted her plump lips and she moaned her agreement, rocking her hips towards the busy hand. He fingered her bundle of nerves, stroking it upwards and Max trembled in his arms.

Her wetness dripped downwards to coat the tips of his fingers and slowly he peeled her inner lips opened. He pushed one finger in leisurely, feeling the tight walls closed around him. She grounded her hips hard before she slowly rode his finger. Quickly he thrust another finger in and she moaned, deep within her throat before moving faster.

His thumb lightly tweaked her throbbing clit and she screamed but Alec closed his mouth over hers, swallowing her scream into another hard kiss. She shuddered as he inner walls fluttered around his fingers, bringing with it the sweet release she violently craved. Max wrapped one trembling hand around his neck before realizing she still had one hand under his pants, clutching hard on his hips and then her eyes glinted.

Alec saw the gleam and grinned, 'I'm all yours, baby.'

Max moved her lips to his ears and whispered, 'Yeah, just the way I like it.'

Alec shuddered when her hot breath whispered over his wet skin. Max's hand traveled over taut abs before getting to her destination. The slightly coarse hair tickled her sensitive hand as she ran her fingers through them. He growled, impatient by the way she kept teasing him.

His impetuous lover just laughed before running one finger lightly over his throbbing shaft, from the hilt to the end of the tip. Her small hand took hold of him, the feel of his hard male flesh pushed her further and she could feel her own response rising swiftly.

Alec helped her to lower her pants and impatiently she kicked them off. With Alec sitting in front of her, she climbed onto his lap and lowered herself. With his shaft securely between her swollen lips, she then moved her hips slowly, rubbing herself against his hardened flesh without taking him in.

A sharp burst of air hissed through his clenched teeth and his hand gripped painfully on her moving hips as she continued to torture him with her movements. He wrapped one hand behind her neck, pulling her head towards him before ravaging her lips in a bruising kiss. With what seemed like an eternity later, she broke the kiss and perched her knees on his thigh before she rose.

Slowly and carefully she placed herself over him and with his help to guide her, she lowered herself. Her eyes fluttered close and she bit back a moan when she felt his hard hot flesh parted her silky lips apart before pushing itself in. Alec's breath stuck painfully in his throat when her tight passage swelled and stretched to accommodate him.

Even with the rain falling swiftly around them, he felt like he was on fire. From deep within him, the fire of their passion started to consume him. Max laid her head on his shoulder, pushing through his wet hair to explore the area where his neck met his strong shoulder. Still taunting him with the swift movements with her slim hips, she grazed the velvety skin roughly, feeling the strong beat of life rushing through his veins.

His rough intake of breath told her just how much he found her attention earth-shattering to his senses and she basked in the sensation.

After he was deep inside of her, he gripped her slim hips tighter, holding her securely against him. Without warning, he rose to his knees before he twisted, all the while still joined to her and before she could even blink, she was staring into his stormy eyes.

Her black hair fanned out around her head on the wet floor and he knelt over her, shielding her from the hard rain. A mere beat passed before he went into her waiting arms, supporting himself with his elbows to avoid crushing her.

But Max didn't need any of that. She pulled him roughly and he relented, taking her full lips in a deep consuming kiss. Max wrapped her hands tightly around his shoulder when he started moving, exiting her snug passage before quickly ramming himself back in.

Their wet and slick skin moved effortlessly over each other, and because of that, their slow sensual movements grew more frantic. Racing towards that sudden burst of nirvana, they both pushed the other to the brink of explosion.

His teeth and lips made their marks visible on the tender neck as he feasted upon her delectable skin, his hand urging her hips on. Her fingers clutched at his slick side before the white light erupted behind her closed eyes and her body turned liquid, flowing into his arms. He shuddered and nestled his head in the crook of her shoulder. Both of them were still for a few moments as their breaths evens out and their hearts slowed down.

He was the first to move, his lips cruising from her neck to her cheek, trailing the raindrops in its wake. Max felt a girlish giggle trying to surface and in retaliation she smacked the side of his arms and tried wriggling out of his arms. He latched onto her and let out a mock growl as she laughed.

She broke his hold and sat, looking morosely at the darker sky and the heavy rain. 'I think we have to go.'

He grabbed her discarded sweater and wrung it, an act of chivalry that made her smile before handing it to her. She pulled the wet shirt over her head, pulling her soaked hair over it.

'Here,' Max grabbed his wet jeans and threw it towards him, 'I'm sure you didn't want to walk back to my place looking like that.' She smirked, giving his glistening naked body a once over.

Alec caught his pants and sighed at its sodden state, before reluctantly shrugging it on. 'Baby, it's nothing I haven't done before.' He just laughed at her expression and strode towards the door.

'You didn't!' She snapped her mouth shut and ran in his wake, 'Oh my god. Come on, I want the details! Spill!'

*-*

Max opened her eyes and sighed, noticing from the corner of her eyes that it was still dark outside. Dawn was almost here but the sun won't be up for a while yet. She burrowed her face into the soft pillow and her breath deepened, fully intending to catch a couple of minutes more of sleep. The sigh was soft, a quiet admission of bliss as she stretched languidly under the sheets. Lying in bed and lazing around like this was a luxury she rarely got and she didn't want it to end prematurely.

The low breath whispered over the soft fabric as her hand sneaked behind her; a little snuggle sounded good just about now.

After their little rooftop loving, they had raced to her place before tumbling into bed, arms and legs locked around each other, chest heavy with laughter and desire. He pushed her down on the bed, smirking and she remembered arching herself up and pushing him down so she was straddling him. He laughed, the sound vibrated from his chest to hers and reared up, nipping the soft skin of her neck. And then it started again.

Her lips stretched into a sleepy smile and she turned towards him, her dark eyes peeping from under heavy lids. Where was he? Her features froze in surprise; her eyes were wide open, sleep had disintegrated and was replaced with alarm when she stared silently at the messy sheets and tangled blanket. Her heartbeat increase tenfold when she realized she was alone.

Max sat still in her empty bed, her fingers fisted in the sheet, breathing heavily. He was not here.

The curtains fluttered in the breeze, letting in shards of pre-dawn light. They danced on her profile, illuminating the fire basking in her golden eyes. Max tossed one of the pillows and grunted in satisfaction as it knocked over a lamp on the bedside table. God, suddenly she hated that shade. Stupid colour. Who likes green with streaks of brown anyway?

Her jaw hardened when she climbed down the bed and made her way to the bathroom, kicking the discarded clothes littering the floor out of her way.

That was so typical of a man. Max huffed and kicked another piece of clothing, ignoring how it dangled precariously from a chair. Just see if she'll give him the time of day when he dared to haul that sorry ass in front of her. _If _he even dared to come back, a vein throbbed in her temple.

She flipped the bathroom light on, it was still dark out anyway, and cranked up the shower, waiting for the water to heat. Good for nothing jerk. Wait till she got her hands on him, sorry ass and everything. Max sneaked a hand into the shower and shuddered, it was freezing.

Turning to the mirror, she stared at her reflection morosely. Was it something in her, something she can't see that chased everyone away? Was there something genetically wrong with her? The anger in her had turned to a hint of sorrow, the fury was still there but distress had started nibbling on the edges. She sighed again but this time her eyes narrowed as she squinted at the mirror.

What the hell was that? Her fingers hovered over the marks on her shoulders and neck, eyes turned to slits as she peered into the glass. She skimmed over the teeth marks, fiercely squashing the heat that flooded back and focused on the smear that wasn't suppose to be there. Ink? She rubbed at the spot furiously and frowned when the stain didn't lift.

She turned the faucet and wet the edge of a towel. A few minutes later, her brow crinkled in confusion when the blackish spot still remained on her skin. What the hell? She leaned in closer to the mirror and examined the area closely. Was that an… alphabet? No no, it looked too… old for simple ABC. Her fingers hovered over her skin for a few more seconds, frowning before she shrugged and slipped into the shower.

Must be some kind of rash. No big deal, it'll disappear soon.

*-*

She stared at the blank wall behind her handler's back and crushed the urge to shuffle in her high heels. The high collar whispered against her jaw line and she was trying not to remember the _reason_ she had to wear it in the first place.

'Good job, 452. I assume the meeting is going as planned?' her handler leaned back in his chair and scrutinized the soldier in front of him.

'Yes, sir!' her shoulders straightened in attention. 'I'm sure both of the CEOs will agree to a merger by the end of the meeting.'

'That's good.'

'I'm just following my mission orders, sir.' Max rolled her eyes in her head at how lame she sounded.

'Very well. Is there anything else I should be aware of?'

If you're thinking of my_ intimate_ contact with Alec, hell no. She was trying to forget that herself. 'No, sir!'

'All right then, go in for your routine medical,' he nodded towards the door and she gave him a salute before exiting stiffly.

Max turned and walked blindly to the small room at the back. This routine had turned to habit for her. She had to meet with her handler every other day, fill him in and then get her shots.

She knew one of the reasons that stopped her from bailing and disappearing from the face of the earth the second they let her out was him, back then when she thought he was actually a decent human being anyway. She had that tiny seed planted in her brain that if she left, she might loose him forever. That was one of the reasons. Another one was the shot she was getting.

Manticore had pulled her in from practice one day and sent her to the medical wing, with strict orders and even stricter guards flanking her. She had been confused at that time, but thought she was supposed to go through a thorough medical exam since she was going out on a mission. They had put her down and when she came to, Renfro was sitting by her side.

She had paled, and turned even paler when she realized that she had been tied to the bed. She tugged her hands hard and the Director smiled when the leather strips held.

'It was our insurance, you see,' she started, smiling down at her. 'I know if we let you out, you'll find a way to leave. We just can't let you do that.' The smile grew and Max's fear rose.

'What did you do to me?' the hoarse whisper filed through cracked lips.

'Our technicians here can do almost anything. I just instructed them to take out a strain of protein from your DNA. And without that tiny piece,' Renfro's teeth appeared between her red lips, 'you'll die. That's a simple way to explain everything.'

'What?'

'But don't worry,' she patted Max's hand, almost maternally, 'when you have your meeting with your handler, he'll give you something. A shot that'll give you two days, no more no less, enough time until your next meeting. As I said, our insurance. We'll fix you when you're done with the mission.'

She never told anyone, not even him. She was too ashamed to admit to anyone that she had marched in like an idiot and let Manticore slice away a part of her, a vital part of her no less. Her eyes were distant as the technician tied a tube around her arms and she didn't flinch when the needle pierced skin and murky yellow substance sped through her system. Then, he put in another needle and drew her blood. They were both silent as the tube rapidly filled with deep red liquid.

'All done,' the technician threw the used syringe and his rubber gloves into the trash. 'I'll see you in two days, 452.'

She shrugged into her black blazer and walked out without another word. The technician took a moment to stare at her legs, admiring the way the tight black skirt moved as she walked away. When she was gone he turned to her vial of blood and start filling in the forms. The Director was always a bitch when it came to her soldier's blood test. 'Like she didn't have anything better to do than check on every X Series' blood work,' he muttered under his breath.

Max was standing in front of MediCorp, looking up at the door as everyone rushed in, ready for another working day. She was silent for a few more seconds, staring at the company's logo, emblazed above the front door. It was a dove's wing that supported the world. It was poetic and beautiful. And it sure as hell didn't come from Bennet, she was certain of that. Max had always secretly thought that MediCorp's CEO was the male version of Renfro.

The sigh that escaped her lips was heavy as she trudged inside the elevator. She ignored everyone else and walked out at her level, plodding heavily to her office. The hallway from the elevator to her office was deserted and silent. Max contributed the fact that she never saw the hand that snaked out from the broom closet to tiredness. She was thinking too much that she wore herself out. Yes, that was a plausible reason.

The hand clasped tightly over her mouth and strong arms started dragging her inside the dark room. She kicked his knee instinctively, her sharp heel added more pain as he gasped, his hand tightened around her. Her elbow rammed into his ribs but she didn't get to make contact, let alone crack said ribs when he twisted her arms behind her. Before she could use her knee, he pushed her around and in the darkness, she saw a familiar pair of eyes glinting at her. For some reason, she recalled her broken lampshade, the stupid thing with the weird colours she had bought when she first get here.

'Hey honey, I'm home. Miss me?'

* * *

_To be continued.._

_

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you enjoy this part _:)_ Plus I wanted to thank the people who still leave a review, eventhough I haven't updated in years! You guys are the best *hugs* Thanks for still sticking with me, everyone! _:D_ And thank you for reading and the reviews too *winks*  
_


End file.
